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
Benefits of treating pain
To the patient - improved sleep - better appetite - fewer medical complications - reduced suffering - less depression + anxiety To the family - improved function as a family member e.g. parent - able to keep working For society - Lower health costs (e.g. shorter hosp stay) - able to contribute to the community
Classification of pain
Duration
Cause
Mechanism
Types of duration of pain
Acute
Chronic
Acute on chronic
Types of causes of pain
Cancer
Non-cancer
Types of mechanism of pain
Nociceptive
Neuropathic
What is acute pain?
Pain of recent onset and probable limited duration
What is chronic pain?
Pain lasting for more than 3 months
Pain lasting after normal healing
Often no identifiable cause
Features of cancer pain
Progressive
May be a mixture of acute and chronic
Features of non cancer pain
May be different causes
Acute or chronic
Features of nociceptive pain
Obvious tissue injury or illness
Protective function
Sharp +/- dull
Well localised
What is nociceptive pain also known as?
Physiological or inflammatory pain
What function does nociceptive pain have?
Protective function
Description of the pain in nociceptive pain
Sharp + / - dull
Well localised
Features of neuropathic pain
Nervous system damage or abnormality Tissue injury may not be obvious Does not have a protective function Burning, shooting + / - numbness, pins and needles Not well localised Abnormal processing of pain signal
Does neuropathic pain have a protective function?
No
Description of the pain in neuropathic pain
Burning, shooting +/- numbness, pins and needles
Not very well localised
4 steps of the pain physiology
Periphery
Spinal cord
Brain
Modulation
What happens in the physiology of pain of the periphery stage?
- tissue injury
- release of chemicals eg. prostaglandins, substance P
- Stimulation of pain receptors (nociceptors)
- Signal travels in A lamda or C nerves to spinal cord
What happens in the physiology of pain in the spinal cord stage?
- Dorsal horn is the first relay station
- A lamba or C nerves synapses (connects) with second nerve
- Second nerve travels up opposite side of spinal cord (spinothalamic tract)
What is the first relay station of the physiology of pain?
Dorsal horn
What happens in the physiology of pain in the brain stage?
Thalamus is the second relay station Connections to many parts of the brain - cortex - limbic system - brainstem Pain perception occurs in the cortex
Where is the second relay station?
Thalamus
Where does pain perception occur?
In the cortex
What happens in the physiology of pain in the modulation stage?
Descending pathway from brain to the dorsal horn
Usually decreases the brain signal
What does the “gate theory” of pain involve?
Noxious (pain) stimulus as well as a distractive stimulus (e.g. rubbing, massaging, application of heat etc)
- the distractive stimulus has larger peripheral nerve fibres than the noxious stimulus (which are small)