Pain Flashcards
What is pain?
It is a sensory and/or emotional discomfort associated with physical and psychological damage
What are the different types of pain?
- organic vs. psychogenic
- acute vs. chronic
- malignant vs. benign
- continuous vs. episodic
What is psychogenic pain?
Pain in the body due to a psychological trauma
What does the psychological impact of pain depend on?
What type of pain it is (i.e. pain will be experienced differently if pain is malignant or benign)
How is pain processed?
- noxious stimuli > 2. algogenic chemicals > 3. activate pain receptors (nocioceptors) > 4. nerve impulse gets sent to the brain
What is an algogenic chemical?
A pain feeling chemical
What two paths can pain impulses travel down?
- A-Delta fibres: sharp, localized pain
2. C fibres: dull, aching or burning pain
What are the theories of pain?
- that it is mechanistic; this excludes psychological pain
- Ronald Melzak’s gate control theory: pain is a physiological mechanism mediated by psychological processes
- ex. when an athlete gets an injury, but only feels pain once the game is over, we can say that the gate (i.e. the spinal cord) is closed due to the environment
What three factors dictate the condition of the gate?
- the amount of activity in pain fibres
- the amount of pain in the periphery
- the messages descending from the brain
What factors open the gate?
- physical conditions (the extent of injury)
- the emotional conditions (anxiety, depression)
- mental conditions (the level of focus on the pain)
What factors close the gate?
- physical (medications)
- emotional (positive feelings)
- mental (concentration)
What is a better definition of pain?
Pain is an interaction of nocioceptive sensory stimulation, psychological factors, and socio-environmental factors
How can pain be socio-environmental?
Because some cultures reject pain or accept it more freely, ratings of pain are different across cultures
Describe some pain behaviours
- facial/audible expressions of distress
- statements and negative affect
- distorted ambulation
- avoidance of tasks/activities
How can we measure pain?
With psychophysiological measures (ex. muscle tension), behavioural checklist, and self-report
What is the McGill pain questionnaire (exam question)?
Pain is rated on 20 independent categories from lowest to highest pain descriptions, and RATINGS ARE PERFORMED OVER TIME.
.What are some strategies for pain management?
- chemical analgesia
- surgical approaches
- acupuncture
- electrical nerve stimulation
- hypnosis
- biofeedback
- relaxation techniques
- CBT
How can hypnosis help with pain?
Because hypnotic analgesia can tackle pain from different modalities
How is hypnotizability related to pain relief?
The higher hypnotizable you are, the more likely you will experience the analgesic effects of hypnosis
What is stress inoculation?
A technique used to control pain (a CBT technique)
- decreases performance on other tasks
How can hypnosis effectively treat pain caused by radiographic exams?
Because it reduces the memory of the pain, which reduces stress, which reduces pain
Is pain bottom-up or top-down?
Pain is a bottom-up process influenced by a top-down procedure
- hypnosis tries to block the top-down procedure
Can hypnosis block pain at the level of the spinal cord ?
Yes
What processes are affected by sensory suggestions?
A sensory suggestion can affect both the sensory processes as well as the affective processes
What processes are affected by affective suggestions?
They only influence affective processes
How does the wording of a suggestion influence the pain process?
The wording of the suggestion influences which brain regions are activated
- posterior occipital activation during hypnotic induction (because of suggestion to visualize)
- brain activates at frontal region during suggestion
- brain activation is bilateral
What is naloxone?
It reduces placebo effects
Are hypnotic effects the same thing as placebo?
No, placebo effects are reversible (hypnotic analgesia is not)
What is hypno-sedation?
The use of hypnosis in conjunction with stress reducing medication
What are some suggestions for analgesia?
- relaxation
- distraction
- direct suggestions
- indirect suggestions
