Pain Flashcards
What is pain?
Intense or damaged stimuli (or the threat of damaged stimuli)
What are some possible etiologies?
- Inflammation
- Infection
- Chemicals
- Muscle Spasm
- Burns
- Ischemia and Tissue Necrosis
- Stretching of Tissue
- Stretching of Tendons
Considerations of Diagnosis?
1) Location of pain
2) Descriptive terms: such as aching, burning, sharp, throbbing, etc
3) Timing of pain: association with activity
4) Physical evidence of pain
Physical evidence of pain
High blood pressure, nausea, vomiting, fainting and dizziness, anxiety and fear frequent in people with chest pain or trauma & other, PALLOR, DIAPHORESIS, TACHYCARDIA
What is pallor?
Paleness
What is Diaphoresis
cold-sweats
What is tachycardia?
resting heart rate above 100 bpm
What is referred pain?
Pain that is perceived at a site distance from the actual source
When pain is generalized the actual source may be…
Difficult to determine
How does referred pain happpen?
When multiple sensory fibers connect at a single level of the spinal cord so the brain has trouble differentiating the location of origin of the pain
What is an example of referred pain?
Appendicitis
What are the two types of pain?
Neuropathic and Nocieceptive
Simple definition of Neuropathic?
Nerve-related
Simple definition of Nociceptive
Tissue-related
Real definition of Neuropathic?
Caused by damage to central or peripheral nervous
How is neuropathic pain often described?
burning, tingling, shooting pain, heavy sensation, numbness, etc.
How is neuropathic pain characterized?
Allodynia and Hyperalgesia
Real definition of Nociceptive?
Caused by damage to body tissue
Description of nociceptive pain?
sharp, aching, throbbing, etc.
What exactly are nociceptors?
Sensory neurons that respond to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending “possible threat” signals to the brain
What stimulates nociceptors?
Temperature, chemicals and physical means
What are the two types of neurons?
Afferent and Efferent
Afferent Neurons
Sensory neurons that bring incoming information from the body to the CNS
(incoming information to the brain)
Efferent neurons
Motor neurons carrying outgoing information form the CNS to the body
What are the types of pain fibers?
Myelinated A delta fibers and Unmyelinated C fibers
Do myelinated A delta fibers transmit rapidly or slowly?
Rapidly
What kind of pain are myelinated A delta fibers?
Acute pain
What are descriptions of acute pain?
localized, sudden, sharp
What kind of pain is myelinated A delta fibers related to?
Thermal and physical stimuli from skin and membrances
What may be caused by the myelinated A delta fibers?
Reflex response
What’s an example of a reflex response
Involuntary muscle contraction
What does a muscle contraciton do?
Moves away from pain source and guards against movement
Do unmyelinated C fibers transmit rapidly or slowly?
Slowly
Unmyelinated c fibers are associated with what kind of pain?
Chronic
What symptoms are there of chronic pain?
diffused, dull, burning, aching
What kind of pain does unmyelinated C fibers related to?
Thermal, chemical & physical stimuli from muscle, tendons, myocardium & digestive tract (&some skin)
Gate Control Theory
suggests how pain can be reduced by activating non-painful stimuli (basis of pain reduction)
Pain threshold
Point at which pain stimuli is perceived (check) (moment when you realize your in pain)
Pain Tolerance
duration or intensity of pain a person will endure before outwardly responding (how well do you handle pain)
Pain perception
Subjective & depends on the condition of an individual
Subjective scales?
Developed to compare pain levels over time
What is pain perception shaped by?
Age, culture, family, tradition & prior experience w/ pain
Responses to pain are influenced by..
personality, emotions, and cultural norms
Conditions that center around pain
CRPS, CIP, Phantom Pain
Conditions with pain as a result?
Burns
CRPS stands for what?
Chronic Regional Pain syndrome
CIP stands for…
Cogenital Insensitivity to Pain
What is CRPS?
Chronic condition that causes long lasting pain that is unproportional to the severity of the initial injury
How does CRPS work?
Pain signals are continuously returned to the brain
What is CIP?
Genetic condition that causes someone to not feel pain
How does CIP work?
Nociceptors do not transmit pain signals(May be underdeveloped or membrane channels don’t work)
Phantom Pain
Pain that feels like it is coming from a body part that is no longer there
How does Phantom Pain work?
More common when patients experience pain prior to amputation
