pain lecture

Question 1

define pain

Answer 1

an unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or percieved tissue damage

Question 2

be more descriptive about chronic pain

Answer 2

this is long term pain, it persists beyond the expected time frame of healing. often this pain has no identifiable cause, or no longer has identifiable cause. person may feel shame or guilt that this type of pain is all in their head. influences who you are, and how you work and socialise

Question 3

what is nociception

Answer 3

damage or potential damage to the body tissue which is detected by the nociceptors and transmitted to the brain

Question 4

what is noxious stimuli

Answer 4

something that causes damage or potential damage to tissue

Question 5

what is our pain network pathway

Answer 5

the nociceptor in the periphery experiences some kind of noxious stimuli, this primary neuron then transmits the information to the same side of the spinal cord (cell body of this neuron is in the Dorsal root ganglion), then the secondary neuron goes up the spinal cord and crosses in the brain stem, synapsing at the thalamus, then the tertiary neuron goes from the thalamus to the higher order brain

Question 6

what is neuroplastic signalling

Answer 6

altered neural signalling that leads to pain signalling when there is no real stimulus

Question 7

what is neuroplastic pain

Answer 7

when there is such a degree of enhanced nociception that signalling can arise when there is no actual noxious stimuli present. the signalling of the pathways of nociception become altered and extremely sensitive

Question 8

whats the fear avoidance model

Answer 8

we worry about getting hurt, then avoid the source, this can interfere with daily life, this can then create negative alterations of life and negative mental state, then the person will become hurt in some way again, which will lead to more worry about inability to control pain and so on.