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
'Chair disease' -- give it a rest
Apr 10, 2009 |
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Where are you right now? Lounging on an overstuffed couch with the newspaper and a cup of coffee? Sitting on a kitchen chair taking in the news online? Well, I hope you're sitting down for this bit of news. (Or maybe you ...
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 ...
Active ingredients in marijuana found to spread and prolong pain
Aug 13, 2009 |
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Imagine that you're working on your back porch, hammering in a nail. Suddenly you slip and hit your thumb instead — hard. The pain is incredibly intense, but it only lasts a moment. After a few seconds (and a few unprintable ...
The pain of torture can make the innocent seem guilty
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 26, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (10) |
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The rationale behind torture is that pain will make the guilty confess, but a new study by researchers at Harvard University finds that the pain of torture can make even the innocent seem guilty.
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.
A little java makes it easier to jive, researcher says
Mar 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Stopping to smell the coffee - and enjoy a cup of it - before your morning workout might do more than just get your juices flowing. It might keep you going for reasons you haven’t even considered.
Personality traits contribute to 'placebo effect'
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Apr 23, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at McGill University have found for the first time that novelty seeking personality types enjoy a stronger “placebo response,” or pain relief caused by the administration of a sham treatment, ...
Researchers find explanation for rapid maturation of neurons at birth
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 17, 2009 |
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At the moment a newborn switches from amniotic fluid to breathing air, another profound shift occurs: nerve cells in the brain convert from hyperexcitability to a calm frame against which outside signals can be detected.
Exercise more, not less, to ease aching back
Jun 02, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
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People with lower back pain are better off exercising more, not less.
Imaging the hypnotized brain: Neural mechanisms of suggested paralysis
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jun 24, 2009 |
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Although there is no doubt that hypnosis can impact the mind and behavior, the underlying brain mechanisms are not well understood. Now, new research provides fascinating insight into the specific neural effect of the power ...
Chinese acupuncture affects brain's ability to regulate pain, study shows
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 10, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
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Acupuncture has been used in East-Asian medicine for thousands of years to treat pain, possibly by activating the body's natural painkillers. But how it works at the cellular level is largely unknown.
Study shows common pain cream could protect heart during attack
Sep 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that a common, over-the-counter pain salve rubbed on the skin during a heart attack could serve as a cardiac-protectant, preventing ...
Infant pain, adult repercussions
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 25, 2009 |
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Scientists at Georgia State University have uncovered the mechanisms of how pain in infancy alters how the brain processes pain in adulthood.
Could acetaminophen ease psychological pain?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Headaches and heartaches. Broken bones and broken spirits. Hurting bodies and hurt feelings. We often use the same words to describe physical and mental pain. Over-the-counter pain relieving drugs have long been used to alleviate ...
Would Pain-Free Animals Make a More Humane Hamburger?
Sep 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- With advancements in genetic engineering, researchers say that it may soon be possible to breed farm animals that don't feel pain. The suggestion has sparked controversy on whether denying ...
