Pain Flashcards
what is pain
an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage
purpose of pain
prevents serious injury
teaches avoidance
prevents permanent damage
pain is classified in two ways - list those two
based on location and. based on duration
two classifications of pain on location
somatic pain
visceral pain
two classifications of pain based on duration
acute pain and chronic pain
somatic pain
- superficial pain (outside our body)
- arises from nocieptive receptors in the skin
- it is localized, fast or slow onset, feels like sharp burning or prickling and is constant
visceral pain
poorly localized
originates from internal organs
activates nociceptors on internal organs
feels like an achy and dull sensation
acute pain
short lived and adaptive pain resposne
occurs in response eto injury or illness
responds well to interventions
produces behavioural change that promotes healing.
chronic pain
mismanaged acute pain turns into chornic pain
pain persists beyond the normal healing period
pain classification based on mechanism (list 3)
nociceptive (acute), neuropathic (chronic), nociplastic (mix)
nocicepetive pain - cause, subtypes, duration
relatex to damage or the threat of damage to non neural tissues
somatic, visceral
less than three months
neuropathic pain - cause subtypes, duration
injury or disease of the peripheral or central nervous system
sensory abnormalities cause varying degrees ofpain sesnations from numbness to hypersensitivity, in which pain receptors react to non-painful stimuli. e.g. allodynia and hyperalgesia.
lasts more than three months
nociplastic pain - cause subtypes, and dudration
abnormal processing in the CNS with no actual threatened tissue damage and no damage or disease of the nervous system - e.g., fibr0myalgia, IBS
non nocicepetive and non neuropahic pain.
as - associated with central sensitization or psychological disttress or ongoing inflammation.
activation and sensitization of nociceptive pain pathway by mediators released at a site.
Modulation of Pain sensation steps (5)
- nocicepetors detect harmful signal
- Message passes from the site of injury to spinal cord through adelta and c fibers (which are the first order sneory afferents coming into the gate at the dorsal horn of hte spinal cord.
- message is relayed to second order neurons whose fibers asccent to the thalamus
- third order afferents project it to higher brain centers of hte limbic system, the frontal cortex, and the primary sensory cortex
- the electrical communication between these regions gives rise to the feelling of pain.
transduction
first and second order neurons, detect noxious stimuli from somatic and visceral tissue. this painful stimuli is converted to energy, and sends the impulse across peripheral nerve fibers
transmission
nociceptive message is transmitted to the CNS of actual or impending tissue injury
a delta fibers send sharo, localized sensations, c fibers relay impulses that are poorly localized.
perception
person is aware of the pain
somatosensory cortex identifies the location and intenisty
modulation by body
excitatory transmitter mediate synaptic transmission to the dorsal horn
inhibiotry NT work to inder pain
excitatory NT , inhibitory NT
E - Glut, Substance P, CGRP
I - GABA, Glycine, Enkephalins, Dynorphin, NOradreanline
Types of NOciceptors and their functino
mediate potentially harmful stimuli
1. thermal receptors are activated by temperatures above 42 degrees or severe cold
2. mechanical nociceptors respond to strong pressure
3. chemically sensitive respond to various chemicals such as bradykinin, histamine, high acididty
4. polymodal ones respond to a combo
Nociceptor activation
- tissue injury releases bradykinin and prostaglandins that sensitize or activate nociceptors, which in turn release substance P and CGRP
- Substance P acts on mast cells to cause degranulation and release histamine, which activates nociceptors
- Substance P causes plasma extravasation and CGRP dilates blood vessels, the resulting edema causes additional release of bradykini
- 5HT is released from platelets and activates nociceptors.
how does thickness of a nerve fiber correlate to speed with which info transfers
thicker the nerve (a delta), fasater the info
slow pain - c nerve fibers
neospiniothalamic tract transmission
a delta fibers takes info through the DRG, synapse onto second order neurons which carry the signal all the way to the thalamus
paleospinothalamic tract
The C fibers synapse on the second order neurons which carry the signal to the reticular formation and midbrain and hten go to the thalamus.