Related topics: patients , depression , chronic pain , severe pain , pain relief
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.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with pain
Killer catfish? Venomous species surprisingly common, study finds
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Name all the venomous animals you can think of and you probably come up with snakes, spiders, bees, wasps and perhaps poisonous frogs. But catfish?
'Mini' transplant may reverse severe sickle cell disease
Dec 09, 2009 |
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Results of a preliminary study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins show that "mini" stem cell transplantation may safely reverse severe sickle cell disease in adults.
Rapid cardiac biomarker testing system developed by Singapore scientists
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Scientists at Singapore's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) have developed a rapid and sensitive integrated system to test simultaneously for specific cardiac biomarkers in finger prick amount of blood.
Researcher unveils new approach to treat lower back pain
Dec 08, 2009 |
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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 ...
Researchers finds hidden sensory system in the skin
Dec 08, 2009 |
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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 ...
Glaxo's swine flu shot may give kids fever
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 04, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The European Medicines Agency warns that young children given GlaxoSmithKline's swine flu shot may get a fever after their second dose.
I see your pain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- How can some sportsmen and women, in the heat of the moment, play on through pain that would floor anyone else? Bert Trautmann, the Manchester City goalkeeper, famously played on through to ...
Outpatient disc treatment gives long-term back pain relief
Dec 02, 2009 |
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A randomized, controlled study comparing standard conservative therapy to a minimally invasive treatment called percutaneous disc decompression for painful herniated disc revealed that while both treatments help patients ...
Overweight children may develop back pain and spinal abnormalities
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Being overweight as a child could lead to early degeneration in the spine, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Brain's endocannabinoid signaling pathway kept in check by two enzymes
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A research team has shown that blocking the degradation of two naturally occurring cannabinoids in the endocannabinoid signaling pathway of the brain produces marijuana-like behavioral effects in mice, according ...
Early relationships influence teen pain and depression
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 25, 2009 |
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Angst could be more than a rite of passage for insecure teenagers, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain. Researchers from the Université de Montréal, Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center ...
Got a pain? -- Have a cup of Brazilian mint
Nov 24, 2009 |
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For thousands of years it has been prescribed by traditional healers in Brazil to treat a range of ailments from headaches and stomach pain to fever and flu.
Chronic pain found to increase risk of falls in older adults
Nov 24, 2009 |
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Chronic pain is experienced by as many as two out of three older adults. Now, a new study finds that pain may be more hazardous than previously thought, contributing to an increased risk of falls in adults over age 70. The ...
Spider secrets decoded in world-first database
Nov 23, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Queensland scientists have developed a world-first database that catalogues the venom components from hundreds of spiders.
