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Do you know how your brain processes pain?
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Pain is usually the number one reason why people seek medical attention. (Shutterstock/-)
Have you ever wondered how your brain processes pain? You probably just know when you feel pain: it hurts.
Pain can be caused by damaged tissues or intense stimuli such as burning your finger on the stove or jamming your toe in a door. Pain is your body’s way of protecting you from further injury or damage. It is a warning sign that you are close to something dangerous or you need medical attention. Pain is usually the number one reason why people seek medical attention.
How do you feel pain?
The process of feeling pain is called pain perception, or nociception. The pain signal starts at the site of stimulation and travels to the nerve and then to your spinal cord and up to your brain. This is when your brain will process and tell you to react to the pain. For example, let’s say you accidentally cut your finger. There are several steps in the pain perception process:
- Once you cut your finger, the tissues are damaged. When this happens, the special pain receptors (nociceptors) are stimulated to register that pain.
- Each receptor is connected to a neuron to transmit the pain signal. These neurons connect the receptors to the spinal cord.
- The pain signal then is transferred to your brain.
- The brain receives and processes the signal to inform your body to react.
Sometimes signals sent to the spinal cord can cause quick reflex actions, making you react before processing the pain. For example, your motor neurons are activated and the muscles of your arm contract, moving your hand away from the sharp object. This occurs in a fraction of a second — before the signal has been relayed on to the brain — so you will have pulled your arm away before even becoming conscious of the pain.
In the pathway for pain, there are several stages where the pain can be modified, amplified or blocked out before they reach the brain. This is true when there have been reports of people not feeling any pain even when injured. For example, injured soldiers during war or athletes playing sports often say they don’t feel any pain from their injuries until afterward.
Another example is when a child falls on their knee, if they rub their knee, the pain signals may be blocked to allow the sensation of touch to travel to the brain, as both of these nerve fibers share the same pathway.
(Read also: Three exercises that can relieve your back pain)
How is pain classified?
Pain is subjective and is sometimes hard to classify. There are many types of pain, which include:
- Nociceptive pain: Nociceptive pain is caused by any injury to body tissues, for example, a cut, burn or fracture (broken bone).
- Neuropathic pain: This is caused by abnormalities in the system that carries and interprets pain — the problem may be in the nerves, spinal cord or brain.
- Psychogenic pain: This type of pain is caused or worsened by psychological factors.
- Acute pain: This is short-lived pain warning the body that damage is occurring.
- Chronic pain: Chronic pain (also called persistent pain) can be caused by ongoing tissue damage, such as in osteoarthritis.
The only person who can really describe the pain is the person in pain. This is why when you see the doctor, they often ask you to describe the pain. It is important to share every detail with your doctor to help find the most effective treatment that is best for you.
What are some management tips for pain?
Now you know the process on how pain is produced, you can find ways to build positive cycles to counteract your pain signal. Here are some tips on managing your pain:
- Distraction by having things to do and planning ahead.
- Distraction using specific distraction techniques.
- Pacing yourself in your activities using time rather than pain as a prompt to rest or change position.
- Finding things to do that give you a sense of pleasure and achievement.
- Managing your mood by challenging negative thoughts.
- Regular relaxation.
- Regular exercise.
- Resolving relationship difficulties.
- Being assertive and clear with others about your needs.
Pain is how your body protects you from harmful stimuli and danger. But it helps to understand how the pain is generated as you can trick your brain to manage your pain level. (kes)
