Pain
hidePain, in the sense of physical pain, is a typical sensory experience that may be described as the unpleasant awareness of a noxious stimulus or bodily harm. Individuals experience pain by various daily hurts and aches, and sometimes through more serious injuries or illnesses. For scientific and clinical purposes, pain is defined by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".
In medicine, pain is considered as highly subjective. A definition that is widely used in nursing was first given as early as 1968 by Margo McCaffery: "Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he says it does". Pain of any type is the most common reason for physician consultation in the United States, prompting half of all Americans to seek medical care annually. It is a major symptom in many medical conditions, significantly interfering with a person's quality of life and general functioning. Diagnosis is based on characterizing pain in various ways, according to duration, intensity, type (dull, burning, throbbing or stabbing), source, or location in body. Usually pain stops without treatment or responds to simple measures such as resting or taking an analgesic, and it is then called ‘acute’ pain. But it may also become intractable and develop into a condition called chronic pain, in which pain is no longer considered a symptom but an illness by itself. The study of pain has in recent years attracted many different fields such as pharmacology, neurobiology, nursing, dentistry, physiotherapy, and psychology. Pain medicine is a separate subspecialty figuring under some medical specialties like anesthesiology, physiatry, neurology, and psychiatry.
Pain is part of the body's defense system, triggering a reflex reaction to retract from a painful stimulus, and helps adjust behavior to increase avoidance of that particular harmful situation in the future. Given its significance, physical pain is also linked to various cultural, religious, philosophical, or social issues.
For more information about Pain, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with pain
Researchers finds hidden sensory system in the skin
11 hours ago |
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Researchers report that the human body has an entirely unique and separate sensory system aside from the nerves that give most of us the ability to touch and feel. Surprisingly, this sensory network is located throughout ...
Deaths related to narcotic pain relievers have doubled since 1991: Study
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Deaths from opioid use in Ontario have doubled -- from 13.7 deaths per million residents in 1991 to 27.2 deaths per million residents in 2004 -- according to a new study led by physicians at St. Michael's Hospital and the ...
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Researcher unveils new approach to treat lower back pain
4 hours ago |
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Using a branch of science that crosses disciplines to study complex problems, a Michigan State University researcher is introducing a new way to understand and treat lower back pain, a condition affecting more than 40 million ...
Treating cluster headaches with high-flow oxygen appears effective
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
2 hours ago |
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Patients with a cluster headache, which is characterized by bouts of excruciating pain usually near the eye or temple, were more likely to report being pain-free within 15 minutes of treatment with high-flow oxygen than patients ...
Small addition to cancer drug may make big difference
4 hours ago |
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University of Florida researchers have found a way to use just a fraction of the normal dosage of a highly toxic, debilitating chemotherapy drug to achieve even better results against colon cancer cells.
Grinch likely depressed, suffers from lack of love, joy, expert says (w/ Video)
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
1hour ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Being irritable, grumpy and seeking social isolation are also hallmarks of depression, and could explain the Grinch's disdain for the Who -- the tall and the small -- his mistreatment of his dog Max and, ...
Antiepileptic drugs not linked to suicide among those with bipolar disorder
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 07, 2009 |
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Despite government warnings about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and actions while taking antiepileptic drugs, these medications do not appear to be associated with increased risk of suicide attempts in individuals ...
Autologous stem cell transplantation for soft tissue sarcoma: insufficient research into therapy
5 hours ago |
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Due to a lack of suitable studies, it is unclear whether patients with soft tissue sarcoma can benefit from autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. With this type of therapy, some of the patient's own (autologous) ...
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