The physiology of nociceptive pain is Nociceptive pain occurs in 5 phases: 1) Transduction, 2) Conduction, 3) Transmission, 4) Modulation, 5) Perception.
Transduction begins when peripheral terminals of nociceptive C fibers and A-delta (Aδ) fibers are depolarized by noxious mechanical, thermal, or chemical energy.
The 4 processes of nociception are transduction, transmission, modulation, and perception.
When you have nociceptive pain the pain will usually feel like a sharp, aching, or throbbing pain which is often caused by an external injury, like stubbing your toe, having a sports injury, or a dental procedure.
Chronic pain is sometimes nociceptive depending on depending on whether the integrity of the somatosensory nervous system is compromised by the underlying disease as Nociceptive pain results from the activation of receptors (nociceptors) sensitive to noxious stimuli.
Nociceptive pain can often be acute pain.
Acute pain is a kind of short-term pain that lasts less than 3 to 6 months.
It can often be caused by an injury, and it will usually go away once the injury has healed.
Acute, nociceptive pain often feels different from neurological or long-term pain.
The 8 characteristics of pain are location, radiation, mode of onset, character, temporal pattern, exacerbating and relieving factors, and intensity.
The 5 ways to describe pain are Heavy, Gnawing, Cramping, Aching and Shooting.
Other ways to describe pain are sharp pain, hot or burning pain and fearful pain.
The 6 types of pain are Acute pain, Chronic pain, Radicular Pain, Visceral Pain, Neuropathic pain. and Nociceptive pain.
The sounds that you make when you're in pain are moaning, groaning and sometimes screaming and hollering sounds depending on the type of the pain.
The reason we make noise when we are in pain is a way to help us tolerate the pain better.
Moaning and groaning helps us cope with pain and helps us feel a bit better.
The difference between an ache and a pain is the ache is usually a less severe form of pain and may be a throbbing pain that is less debilitating while pain can be more severe and may be more debilitating.
Achy pain occurs continuously in a localized area, but at mild or moderate levels.
You may describe similar sensations as heavy or sore.
Dull: Like aching pain, dull discomfort occurs at a low level over a long period of time.
Dull pain, however, may intensify when you put pressure on the affected body part.
Unlike pain, ache can be used in the progressive form.
For example: My back is really aching. I wish my leg would stop hurting, it really aches.
Pain receptors are a group of sensory neurons with specialized nerve endings widely distributed in the skin, deep tissues (including the muscles and joints), and most of visceral organs.
The pain receptors are also called nociceptors.
Pain exists as a way to alert us to problems with our body.
Without pain we would not know that he have an issue or for example if you placed your hand on a hot stove then without the pain you'd burn your hand.
So the pain alerts you to remove your hand to prevent further damage.
The 10 levels of pain are.
Mild Pain – Nagging, annoying, but doesn’t really interfere with daily living activities.
1 – Pain is very mild, barely noticeable. Most of the time you don’t think about it.
2 – Minor pain. Annoying and may have occasional stronger twinges.
3 – Pain is noticeable and distracting, however, you can get used to it and adapt.
Moderate Pain – Interferes significantly with daily living activities.
4 – Moderate pain. If you are deeply involved in an activity, it can be ignored for a period of time, but is still distracting.
5 – Moderately strong pain. It can’t be ignored for more than a few minutes, but with effort you still can manage to work or participate in some social activities.
6 – Moderately strong pain that interferes with normal daily activities.
Difficulty concentrating.
Severe Pain – Disabling; unable to perform daily living activities.
7 – Severe pain that dominates your senses and significantly limits your ability to perform normal daily activities or maintain social relationships. Interferes with sleep.
8 – Intense pain. Physical activity is severely limited. Conversing requires great effort.
9 – Excruciating pain. Unable to converse. Crying out and/or moaning uncontrollably.
10 – Unspeakable pain. Bedridden and possibly delirious.
Very few people will ever experience this level of pain.
Extreme pain can be described as pain that is really severe in that you cannot ignore it and it can also be debilitating as well.
Some ways you can describe extreme pain are.
Agonizing.
Excruciating.
Harrowing.
Painful.
Suffering.
Torturing.
Torturous.
If you have raw-feeling pain, your skin may seem extremely sore or tender.
Sharp: When you feel a sudden, intense spike of pain, that qualifies as “sharp.”
Sharp pain may also fit the descriptors cutting and shooting.
Stabbing: Like sharp pain, stabbing pain occurs suddenly and intensely.
Visceral pain is pain that relates to your internal organs which are in the midline of your body.
Examples of visceral pain are bladder pain, endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and prostate pain.
Some people describe visceral pain as a generalized squeezing or aching.
Radiating pain is pain that travels and spreads from the original pain point to a larger area of the body.
The location of pain is usually in the bones or muscles and is usually described as sharp, aching, throbbing, or pressure. Some pain comes from internal organs.
The 7 features and dimensions of pain are physical, sensory, behavioral, sociocultural, cognitive, affective, and spiritual.
The aggravating factors of pain are movement, physical therapy, activity, intravenous sticks or blood draws, mental anguish, depression, sadness, bad news.
A doctor can refuse to give you pain meds if they don't think you actually need those pain meds.
The doctor can also refuse to treat you as a patient and then you would have to find another doctor.
To get your doctor to take your pain more seriously be as descriptive about the pain as you can.
Describe in detail as good as you can about the pain, where it's located, when it hurts and if it hurts more when you do something such as move or lift something.
Tell your doctor that you're in severe pain and sometimes a doctor will take the pain more seriously.
If your doctor still does not take your pain seriously you may want to see another doctor who will take your pain seriously.
If you feel your primary care doctor doesn't take your symptoms seriously, ask for a referral to a specialist or go to a different practice for a second opinion.
A fresh set of eyes can be extremely helpful.
Review how to present your symptoms factually, clearly, quickly, and without unnecessary minutiae.
How to Describe Your Pain to the Doctor
Where do you feel the pain?
Tell your doctor all of the areas you are experiencing pain.
What kind of pain are you feeling?
Please be as specific as you can.
How often do you feel pain? Is it chronic or acute?