M1-2 Reading Guide 3 Flashcards
Somatic pain comes from:
- skin
- deep tissues
superficial/cutaneous somatic pain characteristics
- sharp
- well-defined/localized
superficial/cutaneous somatic pain: structures affected
superficial
- skin
- fascia
- tendon sheaths
deep somatic pain characteristics
- dull
- aching
- poorly localized
deep somatic pain: structures affected
- bones
- tendons
- nerve
- blood vessels
**can be referred from other sites
What can cause deep somatic pain?
- can be mechanical in nature
- may have a pathological process such as metastasis in somatic structures
visceral pain
felt in internal organs and heart muscle
visceral pain characteristics
- has the ability to refer to distant sites
- diffuse
- poorly localized
- usually not reproduced with movement
- no consistent mechanical pattern of agg/ease
radicular pain results from:
direct irritation of a spinal nerve or its roots
radicular pain characteristics
- sharp, lancinating pain
- somewhat localized to the dermatome
Current theory suggests radicular pain is due to these processes (not just compression)
ischemic and inflammatory processes involved with nerve root compression
In addition to being possibly radicular, this type of pain can also be referred from viscera or deep somatic structures
superficial or cutaneous pain
Intermittent irritation or compression of a spinal nerve or nerve root causes
local edema
Continued irritation and edema results in
- ischemia to the nerve
- sensory, motor, or combined conduction loss, producing parestheia or anesthesia
dermatomal deficits
- paresthesia
- anesthesia
