Sensation of pain

Mechanisms in the organism are important for humans and other living beings. B. Can recognize temperature differences or pain. These sensory perceptions are recorded and passed on by nerve fibers that are present in blood vessels and sweat glands in addition to those in the skin.

The Sensation of pain every person is different. When pain occurs, interactions arise between the psyche and perception. Sensing pain is a very complex process that is triggered by receptors in the nervous system and interpreted and processed in the central nervous system.

What is the sensation of pain?

The perception of pain is determined by psychological, physical and social factors that mutually react to one another. Pain is primarily a purely subjective perception that is not determined solely by the signals transmitted via the nerve fibers and pathways.

In medicine, pain is divided into two categories. On the one hand it can appear as a symptom, on the other hand as a symptom of the course of the disease, and then also as chronic pain. In order for a person to feel pain, the organism needs its free nerve endings, which react to stimuli. These can vary, be triggered by temperature, pressure, inflammation or injury.

So-called pain receptors need a very strong trigger in order to be aroused. In order to activate the receptors, substances that change are necessary. These are called pain mediators and are e.g. B. serotonin, bradykinin or prostaglandins. Due to the increased excitation during irritation, the pH value drops and the tissue is supplied with less oxygen. This changes the electrolyte balance in the blood. That is why pain is often a side effect of injuries and illnesses.

Function & task

Primarily, however, pain is important for the organism because it shows it that something is wrong, normal functions are impaired and damage can occur. This type of acute pain is necessary and the cause can be quickly identified and eliminated. Chronic pain, on the other hand, lasts longer and is separate from the actual illness. So it is still there, although a signaling effect no longer takes place in the body via the receptors.

So z. For example, tissue damage releases various endogenous substances, including oxygen radicals, potassium ions, arachidonic acid, protons and ATP. An enzyme is formed that converts arachidonic acid, which has formed in the membrane of a damaged cell, into prostaglandid E2. The same process is started in the conversion of kinine to bradykinin. This results in degranulation. Inflammatory mediators cause blood vessels to widen. Nociception was born.

Nerve fibers transmit the pain signals in the organism and are divided into A-delta and C-fibers. In terms of development history, the latter are older and lower in transmission speed. This can also lead to escape movements that take place due to reflex interconnections in the spinal cord, but which have not yet been consciously perceived. A well-known example is the hand on a stove top. This jerks back even before the person realizes that the plate is hot.

On the other hand, the signals are also sent to the brain via the "spinothalamic tract". The sensation of pain is then triggered in the cortex and evaluated as recognized information in the limbic system. Have an influence on the perception of pain a. the descending antiociceptive pathways that alter sensitivity. The body reacts to pain by releasing endorphins, which reduce the sensation of pain.

Because pain acts as a warning to the body, it is also called nociceptor pain. Neuropathic pain, which reacts directly to damage in the organism, including infections or amputations, is differentiated from this.

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Illnesses & ailments

Since the perception of pain is always subjective, there can be misunderstandings between the doctor and the patient and general communication problems with regard to the intensity of the pain and the illness.

The organism is very capable of learning in this regard, which means that pain that occurs repeatedly triggers longer and more intense pain perception, since the pain threshold in the body, i.e. the strength of the stimulus and the transmission of the resulting signals, is automatically reduced. Medicine speaks of a pain memory that is associated with chronic pain.

Along with the actual pain sensations, there are also other symptoms that change people's lives in this regard. So can u. a. Sleep disorders, depression and anxiety can be the result, which cannot always be eliminated by simple drug treatment and which still have to do with the pain.

Disturbances in the organism that are of a functional nature can also cause pain if z. B. Certain subsystems work incorrectly. Circulatory disorders in the brain lead to migraines, influences such as fear, stress or disgust cause a different kind of pain.

The perception of pain is divided into an affective and a sensory one, whereby the affective form is perceived as subjective and is described with words like “tormenting” or “violent”, whereas sensory effects occur more than the actual perception and then with words like “burning” or Can be described as "drilling".

In order to better diagnose pain, it is assessed according to where it occurs, in what form, with what effect and cause, in what degree of pain and under what circumstances. Therapies are then carried out with treatment, medication, massages, immobilization of the affected body parts and fractures, physiotherapy or a surgical intervention that removes the affected tissue, organ or body part.

There are also methods of measuring the degree of pain. Statistics and pain scales are drawn up on the basis of the information provided by the persons concerned. If communication is not possible, as with infants or young children, a scale based on observing five characteristics is used. These are the facial expression, the crying, the trunk and leg posture and the restlessness.