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
I see your pain
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 03, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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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 ...
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.
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).
Search results for pain
Poisonous Poisson
Dec 04, 2009 |
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In contrast to the exhaustive research into venom produced by snakes and spiders, venomous fish have been neglected and remain something of a mystery. Now, a study of 158 catfish species, published in the ...
Love hurts: Why emotional pain really affects us
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 03, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
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Have you ever felt overly upset by a social snubbing? Your genetics, not your friends, may be at fault.
Study explains how exercise helps patients with peripheral artery disease
Dec 03, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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Peripheral artery disease (PAD) affects 5 million individuals in the U.S. and is the leading cause of limb amputations. Doctors have long considered exercise to be the single best therapy for PAD, and now a new study helps ...
Brandeis studies evaluate visionary approach to improving eyesight
Dec 02, 2009 |
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Joseph Balboni loves sports. An avid tennis player and golfer, as well as baseball fan, the 46-year-old insurance agent became increasingly frustrated over time as his eyesight dimmed due to keratoconus, a degenerative eye ...
Aspirin, tylenol may decrease effectiveness of vaccines
Dec 01, 2009 |
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With flu season in full swing and the threat of H1N1 looming, demand for vaccines is at an all-time high. Although those vaccines are expected to be effective, University of Missouri researchers have found further evidence ...
Good stress response enhances recovery from surgery, study shows
Dec 01, 2009 |
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The right kind of stress response in the operating room could lead to quicker recovery for patients after knee surgery, according to a new study led by Stanford University School of Medicine researchers. The results could ...
Careful diagnosis helps fracture patients put best foot forward
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Located in areas of the foot that can be hard to visualize with X-rays and other imaging techniques, injuries to the ankle area of the foot are the most frequently misdiagnosed of all foot fractures. Delayed diagnosis can ...
Clearing the way for detecting pulmonary embolism
Dec 01, 2009 |
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When it comes to diagnosing pulmonary embolism—a sudden blockage in the lung artery that could be deadly if not treated—which technique is the most effective? Research published in the December issue of The Journal of Nu ...
Gift Guide: A focus on HD video, at many prices
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Dec 01, 2009 |
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It's easier than ever to shoot high-definition video. You can do it with traditional-style camcorders, of course, but also with cameras that also are designed to take still photos - from high-end "digital ...
Severe asymptomatic heart disease may accompany narrowing in leg arteries
Dec 01, 2009 |
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Results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) reveal that one in five patients with narrowing or blockage in arteries that supply ...
List of search results for pain
