L8: pain, ch11, 12 - completed Flashcards
answers drawn from notes
what are 3 reasons that the study of pain is important?
- is the symptom of greatest concern to patients
- is the most-likely symptom to lead to the use of health services
- heavily influenced by psychosocial processes
what is the purpose of pain?
- warns self/others of tissue damage/injury/disease
- evokes care
explain the specificity theory of pain. What are the 2 parts of the theory? how does it relate to the biomedical approach to pain?
- degree of pain = degree of tissue damage…directly proportional
- upon injury, pain messages originate in nerves associated with damaged tissue and travel to the spinal cord
- signal is then sent to a motor nerve and the brain, where pain is perceived
- biomedical approach to pain has a similar way of viewing pain
- and also assumes a one-to-one correspondence to injury/disease
- also overlooks psychosocial factors
what is the biomedical approach to pain? what does it result in? what are the primary interventions used, and its limitations?
- assumes a one-to-one correspondence to injury/idsease
- results in unfortunate practices, such as patient-blaming, assuming psychiatric disorder, intentional faking of symptoms
- focuses on pharmacological, surgical, or other medical interventions to control pain
- limitations????
what is the gate-control theory of pain? what does it include that was lacking in the specificity theory of pain?
- neural pain gate in spinal cord opens or closes to modulate pain signals to the brain
- involves inhibitor and projector neurons that respond to sensory input and send certain signals to the brain
- includes physical, emotional, and cognitive factors that can open/close the gate
- it includes an explanation for pain without a physical basis–is more holistic
what is neuropathic pain? describe 4 conditions where this occurs. This provides counter-evidence for which theory?
- pain without noxious stimulus, resulting from current/past disease/damage in peripheral nerves
- counters the specificity theory
- neuralgia:
- recurrent episodes of intense shooting or stabbing pain along a nerve
- often follows infection
- causalgia:
- recurrent episodes of severe burning pain that are often triggered by minor stimuli
- AKA complex regional pain syndrome
-
phantom pain syndrome
- often experienced in an amputated limb - neuropathy: damage to peripheral nerves
what is the neuromatrix theory? this is an extension of which theory? what is a body-self neuromatrix?
- extension of the gate-control theory
- there is a widespread network of neurons distributed throughout the brain and spinal cord
- this network is responsible for generating bodily sensations, including pain
- various parts of the nervous system work together to respond to stimuli from the body and/or environment, and sensory input is just one type
- body-self neuromatrix: widespread network of neurons that generates a pattern that is felt as a whole body possessing a sense of self
what is a theory that provides an explanation for neuropathic pain and why?
- neuromatrix theory of pain
- pain can be felt in the missing limb because there’s no necessity for sensory input
what are 3 things that may trigger phantom limb pain?
- other types of input
- lack of normal sensory input
- incongruence between types of input due to the lack of limb
what is our definition of pain? identify the 3 key components of the definition
- unpleasant sensory/emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage
- always emotional
- doesn’t always need identification of tissue damage
- always subjective
what is the primary way that we assess pain? what are some issues with this method?
- primary way: self-report pain rating scales
- issues:
- answers for social desirability
- some people can’t report pain verbally
what are 2 issues with self-reporting chronic pain and why?
- may not be taken seriously, since they have developed better coping mechanisms to deal with pain and only go to the doctor when the pain is really high
- chronic paid is different from acute or transient chronic pain because of how they try to adapt/cope over time
compare organic vs psychogenic pain. what was the historical stance of these topics, compared to the contemporary stance?
- organic: pain with a sensory, physical root
- psychogenic pain: pain that results from psychological, non-sensory factors
- historically, the two types of pain were conceptualized as separate entities
- nowadays, scientists recognize that virtually all pain experiences involve an interplay of both physiological and psychological factors
list 3 ways that emotions affect the pain experience
- negative emotions can exacerbate the pain response
- positive emotions reduce pain
- emotions can obscure the memory of pain… memories are based on what they expected, rather than what they felt
describe the bidirectional relationship of pain and stress. what is a piece of research evidence that supports this?
- (1) Pain is stressful (partly due to lack of perceived control) and
- (2) stress can produce pain in addition to worsening the pain experience.
why is meaning important in the pain experience? how does classical conditioning play into this?
- depending on the meaning we ascribe to the pain, it will be more or less intense
- e.g., classically condition mascochism
what is the most problematic response to pain? describe this term. why is it so problematic?
- catastrophizing: frequent, magnified negative thoughts about pain
- results in higher likelihood of chronic pain
- makes pain experience worse
describe the appraisal model of pain catastrophizing
- primary appraisal: focusing on and exaggerating the threat value of pain
- secondary appraisal: appraisals of helplessness and of inability to cope
what is pain acceptance?
- being inclined to engage in activities despite the pain
- being disinclined to control or avoid the pain
what is the relationship between positive reappraisal and pain? explain with reference to the cold-pressor task
- positive reappraisal can reduce pain IF the subjects receive explanations of how self-statements can help
- people’s beliefs about the purpose of using self-statements affect their experience of pain
name and describe the model that emphasizes the role of catastrophizing in managing distress in a social environment. what is the end result?
- communal coping model of pain catastrophizing
- expressing pain catastrophizing results in increased social support by caregivers, which reduces the effects of catastrophizing on pain
- catastrophizing still has a negative effect overall, even with the benefit of social support
name and describe the model that emphasizes the interpersonal influences in pain
- social communication model of pain
- individual in pain and supportive other bring unique qualities and characteristics that interact to influence the pain experience
- this dynamic interplay continuously influences the pain experience
- influences:
- personal experience of pain
- expression of pain
- pain assessment
- pain management
what is social pain? why does it exist, from an evolutionary perspective?
- pain resulting from interpersonal rejection or loss
- alerts us to when our social relationships are threatened and we need to search out support