About Pain | What is Pain
A reaction to adverse conditions affecting the body, pain is felt by an individual when the central nervous system registers irregular activity in a localized area. This can be caused by a simple cut or scratch, overexcitement of nerves in general, or a serious injury or medical condition that requires treatment. Pain is a natural experience that tells a person something is out of balance and needs attention. At the same time, pain suffering need not be tolerated after the source is determined and there are a number of ways to relieve the various forms of pain felt in almost every part of the body.
Localized Acute Pain
When a person suffers an injury such as a cut finger, the nerves that interact with the surrounding tissue are able to sense the event. This is mostly due to the fact that a number of the neural pathways have been damaged or severed. As a result the chemical changes that occur at the synapses is altered greatly and the nerves send a message to the brain that service has been interrupted. Depending on the degree of injury the signal can be of minimal importance to the brain or it may gain the full attention of our sensory center. Acute pain is usually a sharp sensation or a feeling of burning and reflects the altered nerve activity at the site of the problem.
Acute pain can also occur deeper within the body. If there is an irritation such as the abnormal rubbing of bone and muscle, the individual cells are pinched and the nerves pick up on this activity. A stomachache from overeating is an example of acute pain that is felt below the skin level.
Causes Of Chronic Pain
Unlike acute pain, chronic pain is long-term, is usually caused by a medical condition and is much more difficult to localize. A number of causes include infectious or inflammatory disease, an abnormal growth or malignancy such as cancer, arthritis and migraine headaches. The patient often is unaware of a condition until the nerve activity is disrupted in such a way that the brain realizes something is wrong, but because it is often deep inside the body it is difficult to ascertain the exact location without further examination.
Both acute and chronic pain is treated in much the same way, however. Because it is the sensing ability of the nerves that allows individuals feel pain in the first place, altering this capability is how most pain medications work. Acetaminophen, aspirin and other popular medications act to disrupt the signals sent to the brain by nerves at the location of injury, and if the discomfort is severe a stronger opioid analgesic may be prescribed to target the area with a chemical formula that deadens the nerves' ability to properly define the chemical changes occurring. In either case the individual can find temporary relief from pain, but the condition itself must still be dealt with.
Pain Is A Natural Messaging System
Without our nervous system our brain would be useless, but unless the brain itself interprets the information sent to us our entire bodies would be useless. Our brain controls everything we do both while awake and asleep, and because of this control our bodily functions are regulated and monitored constantly. When something disrupts normal nerve function the brain is notified and we become conscious of it. Pain is therefore a sort of alarm bell and lets us know that part of our functioning is out of step with the rest of us.
Once the source of the pain is located and taken care of, there is no longer any need to feel the pain associated with injury or surgery and that is why pain medications are used. They do not complicate the healing process and since the cause of the discomfort has been identified the pain itself is now a nuisance that can be easily controlled.
For anyone suffering acute pain or unusual pain symptoms with no apparent cause, it is strongly recommended that a doctor be seen immediately. Pain is after all a signal that attention is needed and we should be thankful that this part of our central nervous system function is present.