Week 3 Flashcards
What is the definition of pain?
an unpleasant sensory & emotional experience associated with or resembling that associated with actual or potential tissue damage
What is nociceptive pain?
arising from an identifiable tissue causing damage (thermal, mechanical, chemical (infection))
What is somatic pain?
within the skin or deeper (bones/joints or muscle); pain stimulus detected by the somatosensory nerves
What is visceral pain?
- within or around the organs
- sympathetic nervous system fibers detect the pain stimulus
- poorly localized; can present as referred pain
What is neuropathic pain?
caused by dysfunction of nervous system. Often no identifiable tissue damage
- can be present in many different ways
- poorly or well-localized
Describe some of the characteristics of acute pain
- fast, localized
- stimulated by injury (mechanical, thermal)
- pathway of fast A-delta myelinated fibers
- sudden, short term
Describe some of the characteristics of chronic pain
- slow, diffuse, prolonged
- simulated by something existing (chemical)
- pathway of slow unmyelinated C fibers
- long-term, disabling
What is chronic pain?
- lasting more than 3 months
- not usually an extension acute pain (different underlying mechanisms)
- may become on issue of nerve hypersensitivity
- may be localized within the CNS
- may be a mix of excitatory & inhibitory systems
What is the current research saying about chronic inflammation? What is the ideal combo treatment?
- inflammation of the nervous system due to malfunctioning glial cells) as a cause of chronic pain
- ideal treatment combo = exercise, fish oil, neuromodulation
What are the pharmcological treatments for pain management?
analgesic and anesthetics
How do analgesic drugs work?
reduce the ability to perceive pain
How do anesthetic drugs work?
block the ability to sense pain
What are some non pharmacological treatment for pain management?
- prevention (sleep management, nutrition, education, goal-setting)
- psychological (mindfullness)
- physical (safe exercise, level of pain, learn your body)
What is neuromodulation work?
- use an electromagnetic coil to deliver a magnetic pulse that stimulates nerve cells in specific regions of the brain
- shown to be an effective treatment for chronic depression & chronic neuropathic pain
What is inflammation?
- an important defense mechanism of the body; immunovascular response to some form or insult
- caused by a stimulus
- can be acute (hours, days, weeks) or chronic (weeks, months, years)
What are the 5 cardinal signs or acute inflammation?
- pain
- heat
- redness
- swelling
- loss of function
What causes pain from inflammation?
- chemical mediators increase nociceptors
- pressure on nerves
What causes heat and redness from inflammation?
increased blood flow
What causes swelling from inflammation?
edema from increased capillary permeability
What is the initiation and amplification phase of acute inflammation?
chemical mediators are released into the blood & at site of injury by resident immune cells; more immune cells are recruited to the area
What is the destruction phase of an acute inflammation response?
neutralization of the injury & debris removal by chemical mediators & immune cells
What is the termination phase of an acute inflammation response?
cytokines & chemokines end the inflammatory process
What are cytokines?
- proteins coordinate the immune response
- some are pro-inflammatory and some are anti-inflammatory
In a typical sequence of events during an acute inflammatory response, where are chemical mediators released?
into the blood and at the side of injury (or infection) by resident immune cells
