Physiology of Pain Flashcards
Acute Pain
- Afferent nerves responding to intense stimuli through the dorsal root, into the dorsal horn, and up the CNS
Peripheral Nerve response to
- Intensity
- Harm
- Inflammation
- Mechanical Trauma
- Thermal
- Chemical
- Localization
- Duration
- Quality
- Brain processes the different aspects of the pain experience
Gate Control Therory
- Different types of afferent nerves can be utilized to inhibit descending efferent pain signals from the brain
- Used for pain modulation in TENS, IFC, and HVPC units
- Stimulation of faster non-painful sensory nerves are used to inhibit the conduction of the slower afferent nerve fibers
- The faster nerve fibers “close the gate” on the slower pain fibers before they can send signals of pain to the brain
- The brains descending regulation of pain never receives the pain signals and the pain cycle is temporarily cut off.
- No carryover
Faster Non-painful sensory nerves
- A-alpha and A-beta
Slower afferent nerve fibers
- A-delta and C
_________ nerves are damaged by _______ response and cause _____ afferent threshold (Sensitization - Peripheral / Central)
- Peripheral
- Inflammatory
- Reduced
In time, this process _____ nerves resulting in ____ term peripheral ________ (Sensitization - Peripheral / Central)
- Damages
- Long
- Sensitization
ie: hypersensitivity
______, nerves are “___ __ ____” more often and ________ also occurs. (Sensitization - Peripheral / Central)
- Centrally
- Put to work
- Sensitization
Now a ____ response results in an ____ firing rate of _______ nerve signals even in the face of lower _____ stimulation (Sensitization - Peripheral / Central)
- Central
- Amplified
- Efferent
- Peripherial
Central _______ of this nature is evident in _______, ______ _______, ___, ______ ____ (Sensitization - Peripheral / Central)
- Sensitivity
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic Headaches
- TMJ
- Neuropathic Pain
Symptoms are ______ through a complex cascade of events and shed some light on what is considered ________ in nature (Sensitization - Peripheral / Central)
- Developed
- Psychosomatic
Physiological Changes
- Clearly the nervous system reacts to pain in a short term and long term process
- Persistent / Recurrent Pain
- In light of these processes both peripheral and central pain may continue even when causative factors are removed
- Plastic changes are seen at all levels, peripheral, spinal, and central
Persistent / Recurrent Pain causes
- Receptor Activation
- New Synapse Creation
- Altered neurotransmitter production, receptor types, and prevalence
Evidence indicates ___ matter atropy and ___ matter morphology with ____ pain.
- Grey
- Brain
- Chronic
Nociceptive
- Response to immediate noxious stimuli, signals impeding damage (thermal, chemical, mechanical)
- Cutaneous or superficial
- Deep Somatic
