Pain Killers

Pain is an unpleasant sensory experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. It is a mixed sensation that causes both physiological and psychological reactions. Pain is a protective mechanism that causes body organisms to withstand impulses. It is directly linked with injury or the fear of injury. The feeling of pain is subjective. Different people feel pain on various levels and describe it based on how intensely they have felt it. Responses and reactions to pain are influenced by social, cultural, cognitive, psychological, and genetic factors. 

Individuals feel pain when the affected body part sends signals to the brain through the nerve fiber for interpretation. Nociceptors (specific nerves) identify the tissue damage and transfer the message to the brain. Meanwhile, a reflex occurs even before the message reaches the brain. Once the pain signal arrives, it causes the individual an unpleasant sensation. 

The brain releases feel-good hormones to counter the unpleasant sensation of the pain. Several medicated pain relievers are available on the market to soothe the pain and offer a sense of relief to the affected person. 

Concept of Pain

Every kind of pain is biopsychosocial. Biological, psychological, and social - these three domains interact to create and reduce the sensation of pain in the body. People’s reactions to pain have been different since the dawn of human civilization. According to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, pain occurs when any of the four substances —blood, phlegm, yellow bile, or white bile—becomes too much or too little. 

Let’s look into the core elements of the three main domains that influence pain. 

Biological: Age, Genetics, tissue damage, system dysfunction, inflammation, diet, sleep, anatomical and biomechanical concerns.

Psychological: Beliefs, thoughts, memories, emotions, trauma, evaluative processes. Executive and attentional processes, coping mechanisms, etc. 

Sociological: Socioeconomic status, access to care and attention, culture, race, family comfort, ethnicity, home ambiance, society, context, environmental factors, etc. 

Effective pain relief treatment methods demand a multidisciplinary approach that works on the brain, body, and psychology, employing medicines, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other modalities.  

Contributing Factors to Pain

When the body receives a blow or an injury, it sends the pain message down the spinal cord and causes the muscles to contract immediately. In extreme cases, the response happens so fast that the message does not reach the brain. Once the body feels the pain, it sends the signal to the brain in moments.

How the brain perceives these signals and how effective the nociceptor’s communication with the brain is determines how intense the pain is. The brain instantly releases feel-good hormones like Dopamine to compensate for the unpleasantness. 

A lot of factors work behind how and why people feel pain differently. According to studies, biological (genetics and epigenetics of pain, nervous system, immune system, the endocrine system), psychological (fear and avoidance, mental and emotional health, mood, resilience, thoughts about pain), and social factors are the core contributors to an individual’s experience of pain. This is why pain is also known as a biopsychosocial experience. Each set of reasons affects one another within the body. Hence, the treatment for pain is both complex and subjective. 

What Are the Types of Pain?

Pain comes in two forms - Acute and Chronic. 

Acute Pain 

Acute pain is generally short-lived and intense. It signals the body about tissue damage or an internal injury. Simply treating the injury can eliminate the acute pain. This kind of pain results in faster heartbeats, and the body goes into fight-or-flight mode while suffering from it. 

Acute pain comes in different types - 

1. Somatic pain: It’s a superficial pain a person feels on the skin or the soft tissues just below the skin. 
2. Visceral pain: This kind of pain is caused by internal organs and the cavity linings of the body. 
3. Referred pain occurs when a person experiences visceral pain at a point other than the point of damage. For instance, when one suffers a heart attack, intense pain in the hand and shoulder area is termed referred pain. 

Chronic Pain

Chronic pain lasts longer than acute pain. It can range from mild to severe. Often, there is no cure for chronic pain. This kind of pain can result from arthritis or episodes of migraine. Intermittent pain occurs repetitively.

In chronic pain, the sympathetic nervous system adapts to the pain stimulus. A person feels the pain long after the event of injury. 

There are other types of pain as well, 

• Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain occurs when the peripheral nerves receive an injury. These nerves directly connect the brain and spinal cord to the body. The pain can feel like electric shocks, numbness, or tingling effects. 

• Phantom Pain

Phantom pain results from amputation. The painful sensation feels like it originates from a missing limb. 

• Central Pain 

Central pain occurs due to abscesses, tumors, infarctions, or internal bleeding in the brain or the spinal cord. The pain is constant, and its effects can be mild or severe. Individuals suffering from central pain feel burning or pressing sensations. 

It’s crucial to describe the pain in the right way to the doctor for a more specific diagnosis. 

How to Diagnose Pain?

When one feels pain, the description is entirely subjective. And this is what guides the doctor to make a diagnosis. There is no objective scale to diagnose or measure the pain. So, the doctor considers the individual’s pain history. Therefore, the doctor needs to know information on - 

• Nature of pain - burning, stabbing, stinging 
• Radiation and intensity of the pain - when a person feels the pain, how it feels, and how it has expanded.
• Which factors add to or relieve the pain
• When the pain feels the most throughout the day
• How the pain affects the person’s mood and everyday life
• How the person understands the pain. 

Several factors help identify and scale the pain. Clear communication between the doctor and the person in pain is the most important to diagnose and measure the pain. 

Key Indicators of Pain

Individuals with cognitive impairments cannot rightly describe the pain, but there can be clear indicators that help detect and measure the pain. The indicators include,

• Crying
• Restlessness 
• Groaning 
• Resistance to care 
• Less social interactions 
• Clueless wanderings 
• Lack of appetite 
• Sleep disorder 

Seeing the indications, the doctor helps treat the root problem. If it’s treatable, the doctor suggests relevant painkillers or the needed therapy to manage and cure the pain. 

Treatment and Therapy 

One must remember pain is a protective mechanism that causes organisms to resist impulses directly connected with the fear of injury or bodily damage. Differences in pain resistance among humans occur due to several factors. As discussed earlier, one feels the depth of pain under the influence of social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and genetic factors. For instance, an athlete can tolerate or ignore pain more than others. Order medicines online with Global Care Meds. Get the best quality painkillers like SOMA (Carisoprodol) 500 MG TABLETS, Tapentadol Tablets, PREGABALIN CAPSULES, GABAPENTIN TABLETS, Aspadol 100, Tapentadol Tablets across the USA with fast shipping processes with GCM. A wide array of non-drug therapy is also available to relieve pain. The alternatives include acupuncture, nerve blocks, psychotherapy, relaxation techniques, biofeedback, physical manipulation, heat and cold compress, physical therapy, etc.