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Have you ever wondered how your brain processes pain? You may just find out that pain is painful. Pain can be caused by damaged tissue or by intense stimulation such as accidentally burning your finger on the stove, or getting your foot caught in a door. Pain is your body's way of protecting itself from further injury or damage. This is a warning sign that you are near something dangerous or that you need medical attention. Pain is usually the number one reason why people seek medical attention.
How can we feel pain?
The process of feeling pain is called pain perception, or nociception. Pain signals begin at the point of stimulation and continue down your nerves and then down your spinal cord to your brain. This is the time your brain will process and tell you to react to pain. For example, let's say you cut your finger by mistake. There are several steps in the pain perception process:
- After you injure your finger, the tissue becomes damaged. When this happens, special pain receptors (nociceptors) are stimulated to recognize the pain.
- Each receptor connected to a neuron sends a pain signal. These neurons connect receptors to the spinal cord.
- Pain signals are then transferred to your brain.
- The brain receives and processes signals to inform your body to react.
Sometimes the signals sent to the spinal cord can cause a quick reflex action, causing you to react before processing pain. For example, your motor neurons are activated and the muscles in your arms contract, moving your hands away from sharp objects. It happens within a fraction of a second - before the signal is sent to the brain - that you'll be pulling your arm out before you even notice the pain.
There are several stages in which pain can be modified, amplified or blocked before they reach the brain. This is a fact when there are reports of someone not feeling sick even when injured. For example, soldiers injured during war or sports athletes often say they did not feel pain from their injuries until afterward.
Another example is when a child falls on his knee, if he rubs his knee the pain signal can be blocked to allow the sensation of touch to travel to the brain, as these two neural networks share the same network.
Different types of pain
Pain is subjective and sometimes difficult to classify. There are many types of pain, which include:
- Pain nociceptive: caused by injury to body tissues. For example injured, burned or fractured (broken bones).
- Neuropathic pain: Caused by an abnormality in the systems that carry and interpret pain - the problem may be with the nerves, spine or brain.
- Psychogenic pain: This type of pain is caused or made worse by psychological factors.
- Acute illness: It is a brief pain alert to the body for the damage done.
- Chronic pain: Chronic pain (also called persistent pain) can be caused by ongoing tissue damage, such as in osteoarthritis.
The only people who can really explain pain are those who are sick. This is why when you see a 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 and best treatment for you.
How to deal with pain?
Once you know the process by which pain arises, you can find ways to build a positive cycle to counter your pain signals. Here are some tips on managing pain:
- Distracts your mind by thinking about what to do and planning ahead
- Distract your mind using certain distraction techniques
- Move yourself in activities rather than thinking about pain
- Find out what you should do to feel good about yourself and be proud
- Take control of your mood by challenging negative thoughts
- Regular relaxation
- Get regular exercise
- Solving problems in a relationship
- Be assertive and clear with others about your needs
Pain is the process by which the body protects you from harmful stimuli. But understanding how pain occurs can certainly help. You can trick your brain into managing your pain levels.
