Without pain, our life could have been miserable. Pain gives us an ability to limit the damage to the body. The secret to longevity is our ability to feel pain - Yes, all these sentences are 100% correct.
If you want to understand them all, read on, as this article will explain everything about pain from start to finish in simple words.
Topics covered in this article will be
- Pain Definition
- Why should you learn about pain?
- Types of Pain
- Pain Scale
- Science behind feeling of Pain
- Issues due to Pain
- Pain Management
As we have a lot to learn, let's start learning right away..
Pain Definition:
- Pain is defined as an unpleasant emotional or sensory experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.
- Too Complicated, isn't it? (That definition is written in my physiology textbook that we used to remember in our Med school days ).
- But, for you, let me simplify it...
- When any tissue of our body faces any insult - Tissue Damage, Prick, Burning etc.., it generates a neural impulse that will be sensed by Pain Receptors - Nociceptors.
- And will be taken to the Brain via nerves; so, the person will experience pain.
Why should you learn about Pain?
- As per our knowledge till now, we feel pain if anything wrong happens to any part of the body - Prick, Burning or Crushing. I know it feels miserable...!
- Let's imagine for a second, what if, we can't feel pain? Amazing - what you must have thought immediately, right?
- In absence of pain sensation, if we accidentally put our hand on a red hot stove, we will not realize it and take our hand back . That could result in we burning our hand....!
- What if a factory worker accidentally put his hand in a high speed machine and does not feel pain even if his hand is getting crushed?
- So, Pain is a gift to us that we should be thankful for.
- God's gifts are always amazing, even if we , humans, do not realize that...
Types of pain:
1). Based on the Duration:
Acute pain -
- The type of pain that is usually short lived that generally alerts the person about the underlying tissue damage.
- Types of it are
Visceral pain - Originating from inner organs of the body and
Referred pain - the pain is referred to other body parts than it's original source.
- It leads to fight and flight response in the person that fades away after the underlying cause gets treated.
Chronic pain -
- The type of pain that is long term and takes longer to get resolved or ,sometimes, do not resolve at all.
- Types of it are Continuous - Arthritis or Intermittent - Migraine.
Also Know:
Windup effect - As after winding up the toy with more intensity will lead to it running longer; in the same way, chronic pain will result in feeling of pain long after the cause of pain has gone.
2) Based on what causes Pain:
Nociceptive Pain:
Caused by tissue damage.
Neuropathic Pain:
Caused by Nerve Damage.
Psychogenic Pain:
Caused by Psychological factors - Stress , depression ,fear.
3). Based on a location
Localized:
Pain that originates from the specific part of the body. Ex :Gastric Ulcer
Generalized:
Whole body aches as in case of Flu.
Pain Scale:
Among all the methods of measuring pain Intensity like Verbal description, Numerical rating and Face scale, McGill Pain Questionnaire is a widely popular scale.
Series of questions are being asked to the patient and then the intensity of the pain is decided as per the response.
Science behind feeling of pain:
- Ouch! What was that?
- You'll immediately respond after someone pricks your finger with a sharp object.
- Have you thought, how you can respond promptly and limit damage to your body?
- When anything damaging happens, the tissue damage takes place, which is registered by Nociceptors - Micro Pain Receptors underneath the skin.
- Each Nociceptor forms one end of a nerve that is connected to the Central Nervous System(CNS) - Brain or Spinal Cord by nerve fiber.
- When the nociceptor is triggered , the impulse of pain immediately travels to CNS via Nerve (A delta or C type. )
In case of pain, they are mainly Substance P and Glutamate.
Issues due to Pain:
- Restlessness
- Crying
- Reduced social interaction
- Sleeping problems
Important :
The feeling of pain is subjective meaning some people have high tolerance for it and some can not withstand it at all.
Pain Management:
When it comes to managing Pain, one size will not fit all.
When you go to see the Doctor, he will ask you a bunch of questions to evaluate your situation - How intense is the pain? When it started? Are there any trigger points for it? At what time of the day the pain gets unbearable?
As per an Individual's need, we, Doctors, prescribe different treatments to people.
Age, Sex, Previous Medical History and Work Conditions of individuals has to be taken into account before deciding the therapy.
Acute pain relief:
Generally, Acute pain could be tackled by medications - NSAID or Opioid.
NSAID(Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs) -
It functions by reducing the Inflammation and the Swelling, thereby reducing the pain. Those medicines are available over the counter , if required in low dosage.
However, high dose pills will only be available by prescription because it has side effects like Stomach bleeding , Allergic Reaction and Headache.
So, the Doctor will weigh the benefits and issues and will prescribe ,if feasible.
These medicines mainly help in pain relief due to Headache, Osteoarthritis or Back-pain.
For minor injuries, follow RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.
Opioids -
They are the type of medicines used in serious injuries like bone fracture, surgery , Heart attack .
These are addictive medicines and can cause withdrawal symptoms; so it is used very carefully and the dosage is reduced slowly.
They are powerful pain relievers working alike endogenous substance that relieve pain - Endorphins.
Chronic pain Treatment:
Besides NSAIDs and Opioids, other non- medical treatments, physical therapy are also promising for curing chronic pain.
Surgery -
In case of those pain that is incapacitating, surgically excising the nerve connection with the spinal cord could be done.
This will not transmit the pain impulse till the CNS , which will result in a person not feeling Pain.
Nerve Blocks -
If a patient could not be operated due to his medical situation or unwillingness, the nerve transmitting the pain sensation could be blocked via injecting absolute Alcohol into it.
Massage -
Sore spots in the muscle due to sports injuries could easily be relieved by trigger point massage.
Also, as per the Ancient Chinese Medicine, the root cause of any disease or pain is a blocked energy. Massage will release the blocked energy and will provide relief in the pain.
For more information on Massage therapy, Click here.
Cold therapy -
Inflammation related pain will mostly be relieved by applying a cold pack to it as cold will decrease inflammation and ,thereby, pain.
As a thumb rule, the easiest way to deal with any type of pain is to treat the underlying situation.
- However, few pain do not require any pain killer medication to care for it.
For example, pain in the neck due to poor posture will be cured automatically , once the person improves his posture and makes it a lifestyle.
Pain in the throat will be cured by giving Antibiotic medication , not painkiller.
Conclusion:
- Pain is a distressing feel ,but very important for life. Many conditions can cause it - Headache, Gastric Ulcer or Heartburn.
- Pain is the main reason for which people pay for the Doctor's visit.
- Diagnosis and Treatment of different types of pain varies drastically.
- Whether to prescribe the pain medicines is the Doctors call by weighing its pros and cons.
- Severity of all pain is not the same - Chest pain requires immediate attention, but muscle pain after a tough workout session doesn't.
That's all about pain..
Even after reading this, if you have any Questions or want to know more, feel free to leave a comment below and I'll be quick to reply....