Pain is a complex and multi-faceted experience that can be difficult to understand and explain. At its core, pain is a signal from the body that something is wrong, alerting us to the presence of injury or disease. However, the experience of pain can vary greatly from person to person, from situation to situation and can be influenced by a wide range of physical, emotional, and psychological factors. In this blog post, we will simplify pain.
What is pain?
It’s a sensation, just like touch.
Like anger, it is an emotion.
Like hunger, it is a behaviour
Pain is complex. It’s not just a symptom or a sign of damage. It’s more a perception of a threat, and when perceptions of a threat are changed, feelings of pain are changed.
How can a bruise help explain pain?
A bruise is an obvious sign of tissue injury. All of us have discovered a bruise for which we have no explanation. No idea where it has come from. This is due to the fact that tissue damage doesn’t always cause us any discomfort or pain.
You might have gotten that bruise while rushing or maybe you bumped into something. Your nervous system, therefore, didn’t view the tissue damage as a threat or as being particularly significant. Your nervous system made the decision not to warn you or let you feel any discomfort.
How can a paper cut help explain pain?
A paper cut is such a small thing, yet it is so so painful!
Paper cuts are a great example to show that levels of tissue damage are not related to levels of pain. Just because the paper cut is small, doesn’t mean the pain will be small. And just because an injury is large, doesn’t mean the pain will be large. Levels of pain do not correlate to levels of tissue damage.
How can a frog help explain pain?
There is a fable that if you put a frog in boiling water, it will always jump. But if you put a frog in warm water and slowly increase the temperature, it will stay there until cooked. The same goes for tissues and structures in our bodies. Sudden changes are more noticeable, like a frog being dipped in boiling water. But gradual changes are less likely to be noticed, like a frog slowly warming up. This is why similar structural changes in different people do not always cause pain.
How can sunburn help explain pain?
Sunburn hurts, it causes damage to our skin. Now when you have a sunburn and take a shower it hurts even more. The water feels painful. But we know the water isn’t causing any further damage. The water is irritating something which is already sensitive.
This is just like some movements when we are in pain. Movements can hurt, but it doesn’t mean they’re harmful, or that we should avoid them. Those movements at that moment in time are just irritating something that’s sensitive!
How can pain be like a fuel warning light?
There are two types of people in the world when it comes to the fuel warning light. Those who take urgent action to seek the nearest petrol station to refill. Or those who dare to continue on. Pain is similar to the fuel warning light. Some see pain as a sign to take immediate action, other ignore it and continue on.
Our patients tell us that they are very happy with the service and treatment we provide and often tell others about it on Google Reviews!
Need help managing your pain? Visit Body Beliefs, your local osteopaths in Billericay. We offer assessments and treatment plans to relieve pain. Book online or call 01277 676 676.
