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PainHelp, London (2025)

29/01/2025

Around 90% of your brain operates on a subconscious level, shaping your daily actions and decisions. This means what you repeatedly focus on—your thoughts, habits, and environment—deeply influences your outcomes.

If you’re managing pain, small daily shifts can rewire your brain for resilience:

📵 Leave your phone alone – Reduce distractions and give your brain space to reset.
👁️ Visualize & focus – Your brain follows where your attention goes. Picture yourself moving with ease.

🔁 Repetition matters – What you do often becomes automatic. Choose habits that support healing.

🛑 Make space – Rest, breathe, and give your body time to adapt.

🚀 Push through limits – Growth happens just beyond your comfort zone.

🎯 Have a strategy – Prepare for setbacks so they don’t throw you off track.

💪 Step through fear – Fear fuels avoidance. Take small steps forward.

🛠️ Break self-sabotage – Challenge negative self-talk and rewrite your story.

Pain self-management is not just physical—it’s a mental game too. Train your brain, and your body will follow.

28/01/2025

That’s because your body relies on an enzyme called CYP2D6 to turn codeine into morphine, the real painkiller. But here’s the twist:

👉 Some people’s livers work too fast, creating too much morphine (hello, scary side effects: nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, etc).
👉 Others don’t process it well at all, leaving them in pain with no relief.

Pain management isn’t one-size-fits-all—always make sure your treatment fits your body. 💊

28/01/2025

Did you know that codeine’s effectiveness and safety depend on your genetics? Codeine is a prodrug that requires the CYP2D6 enzyme in the liver to convert it into morphine, its active pain-relieving form.

But here’s the catch: not everyone’s CYP2D6 works the same way. Some people metabolize it too slowly, getting little relief, while others process it too quickly, risking dangerous side effects like respiratory depression.

This highlights the importance of personalized medicine in pain management—tailoring treatments to the individual for safer, more effective care.

11/09/2024

Balancing dopamine levels is essential not only for emotional well-being but also for effective pain management. By moderating activities that cause rapid dopamine spikes, we can better manage pain and enhance overall health. 🌟

11/09/2024

Ever wondered how your body turns a stubbed toe into an “ouch” or why touching a hot stove causes pain?

Understanding the pathophysiology of pain reveals the incredible journey of pain signals from the injury site to the brain.

This knowledge underscores how our body protects us from harm, highlighting the complex processes of transduction, transmission, modulation, and perception. 🌟

11/09/2024

Understanding the character of a patient’s pain is crucial for effective pain management. The nature of the pain can indicate different underlying mechanisms, guiding clinicians toward the most appropriate treatment. This approach ensures targeted therapy, which can enhance pain relief and minimize side effects.

11/09/2024

Neuroplasticity is a central element in the complex relationship between the brain and pain perception. It can both exacerbate and alleviate pain, depending on how it is harnessed and influenced. Understanding the role of neuroplasticity in pain offers new avenues for developing effective pain management strategies and therapies, ultimately improving the quality of life for individuals living with chronic pain.

📌 Sensory Adaptation: The brain is continuously adapting to sensory inputs, including those related to pain. When an individual experiences chronic pain, the brain may undergo changes in the way it processes pain signals. Over time, this can lead to an increased sensitivity to pain, making the perception of pain more intense and persistent. This phenomenon is known as central sensitization, and it is a manifestation of neuroplasticity.

📌 Reorganization of Brain Structures: Neuroplasticity also involves the reorganization of brain structures. In the context of pain, this can mean changes in the neural pathways and connections associated with pain perception. For example, in cases of chronic pain, areas of the brain responsible for processing pain signals may become more active, leading to a heightened perception of pain.

📌 Pain Memory: The brain has the ability to create and store memories related to pain experiences. This can influence an individual's pain perception and response to future pain stimuli. For instance, if someone associates a specific movement or activity with pain, their brain may become more sensitive to that particular stimulus, leading to a pain response even when the original injury or condition has healed. This is an example of how neuroplasticity can contribute to the persistence of pain.

11/09/2024

Affecting approximately 1 in 5 adults in Europe, chronic pain is one of the most prevalent chronic disease conditions and has been identified as a global public health research priority. The direct and indirect costs associated with chronic pain have been estimated at €200 billion in Europe and between US$560 and US$635 billion in the United States.

From physical well-being to mental health (MH), chronic pain interferes with all aspects of patients’ lives.

Chronic pain can interfere with daily activities, such as working, having a social life and taking care of oneself or others. It can lead to depression, anxiety and trouble sleeping, which can make the pain worse. This response creates a cycle that's difficult to break.

Persons with chronic pain syndrome are often inactive and fail to carry out normal social and vocational roles. Pain has an impact at physical, emotional and social level.

11/09/2024

The relationship between neurotransmitters and pain is a complex and critical aspect of how the human body perceives and responds to pain.

👉 Oxytocin can ease pain by modulating brain and spinal cord processes and indirectly help by reducing stress and enhancing relaxation.

👉 As natural opioids, endorphins reduce pain and promote positive feelings, being released through activities like exercise and laughter.

👉 Serotonin, regulating mood and sleep, impacts pain perception; SSRIs, for instance, can mitigate pain for some chronic pain sufferers.

👉 Dopamine, linked to reward and pleasure, also modulates pain perception and can aid pain relief via the brain's pain-dampening pathways.
Known as a mood influencer, dopamine also supports individuals in managing chronic pain and adhering to treatments.

👉 GABA, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter, lowers neuronal activity and can suppress pain signal transmission, with low levels often associated with chronic pain.
Enhancements in GABA activity, whether through medication or lifestyle changes, can lessen pain and foster relaxation.

👉 Conversely, glutamate, an excitatory messenger, is involved in pain transmission and can lead to increased pain sensitivity when its signaling is in excess.
Unregulated glutamate pathways often result in heightened chronic pain sensitivity.
Regulating glutamate activity with specific medications or adapting lifestyle habits can be effective in reducing pain and aiding pain management strategies.

10/09/2024

Nociceptive vs Neuropathic Pain

🔵 Nociceptive pain is a type of pain that occurs in response to tissue damage or injury. It is a normal and protective mechanism that alerts the body to potential harm. Nociceptors are specialised nerve endings found throughout the body, especially in the skin, muscles, joints, and internal organs.

These nociceptors detect harmful stimuli, such as:

👉 Mechanical stimuli: such as pressure, stretching, or injury to tissues.
👉 Thermal stimuli: such as extreme heat or cold.
👉 Chemical stimuli: such as the release of inflammatory molecules in response to tissue damage.

When these stimuli activate nociceptors, they send pain signals to the brain, where the sensation of pain is perceived.
Nociceptive pain is often described as a sharp, aching, or throbbing pain that is localised to the site of the injury or tissue damage. It tends to be predictable and usually resolves as the underlying cause of the pain heals. It is normally associated with injury, burns and inflammation.

🔴 Neuropathic pain is a type of chronic pain that results from damage or dysfunction of the nervous system (can be peripheral or central, depending on the location). Damage can be due to several mechanisms including trauma or surgery, diabetes mellitus, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, ischaemia, infection or malignancy. Unlike nociceptive pain, which arises from tissue damage or injury, neuropathic pain is caused by abnormalities in the nerves themselves. It can be a persistent and debilitating condition that is often described as burning, shooting, stabbing, or electric shock-like sensations.
Neuropathic pain can be difficult to treat and non-traditional analgesic drugs such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants are used.

10/09/2024

💡 Did you know that pathophysiological changes in the pain matrix reflect strong correlation between chronic pain and mental status.

Psychological stressors tend to accentuate pain intensity and compromise an individual's ability to cope with pain. Therefore, Biopsychosocial evaluation is a critical component of chronic pain management.

⭐️ The Biopsychosocial model was first proposed by George L. Engel and Jon Romano of the University of Rochester in 1977. As opposed to the biomedical approach, Engel strived for a more holistic approach by recognizing that each patient has their own thoughts, feelings, and history.

⭐️ The Biopsychosocial approach describes chronic and complex pain syndromes as a multidimensional, dynamic integration among physiological, psychological, and social factors that reciprocally influence one another.

🧠 Psychological Factors

Feelings like sadness, worry, and stress can impact how we experience pain. Research shows that if we're feeling down or anxious before surgery, we might feel more pain afterward. 😣 Plus, these emotions can also make it more likely for short-term pain to become long-lasting. 🕰️ So, taking care of our mental health can make a big difference in our pain journey.

👥🤝 Social factors

Having friends and family who understand and support us can make a big difference in how we feel and function with pain. 💪 Pain care isn't just about medicine; it's also about the people in our lives and our community. 🌟 By recognising and appreciating these social connections, we can help each other find strength and improve our quality of life. ❤️

🔍🧬 Biological Factors

Our bodies have a unique way of experiencing pain, and it's all in our genes and biology. 🧬💡 From the way we process pain signals to our individual responses to treatments, biology plays a major role. 🌟💊 Understanding these biological factors helps us tailor pain management, bringing relief and improving our lives. 🙌 Let's decode the science behind pain! 🧠💥

10/09/2024

Somatic tracking and cognitive soothing are methods that can be employed in the management of chronic pain. Both techniques draw upon the understanding that pain is not just a physical sensation but is also influenced by the brain and our psychological state.

Somatic Tracking involves paying mindful attention to bodily sensations without judgment or the need to change the experience. It’s a form of mindfulness practice that encourages individuals to notice their pain in a non-reactive way.

The purpose is to reduce the fear and anxiety associated with pain by promoting the recognition that sensations are just sensations, not necessarily indicators of harm or damage.

Through somatic tracking, a person learns to change their relationship with pain, observing it with curiosity rather than with a fight-or-flight response.

This process can help retrain the brain to perceive pain signals differently, potentially decreasing the intensity of pain experienced.

Cognitive Soothing is another psychological technique that targets the cognitive and emotional aspects of pain. It involves using calming thoughts and affirmations to counteract the stress and tension that can amplify pain.

Cognitive soothing strategies might include positive self-talk, visualization, or engaging in a relaxing mental activity. The idea is to shift focus away from pain and the stress it causes and move towards thoughts that elicit a sense of calm and safety.

By doing so, one can potentially reduce the heightened state of alertness that the brain maintains in response to chronic pain, which can otherwise perpetuate and intensify the pain experience.

Both somatic tracking and cognitive soothing are grounded in the biopsychosocial model of pain, which acknowledges that biological, psychological, and social factors all play a role in the experience of pain.

By addressing the psychological factors through these methods, individuals can gain more control over their pain and improve their overall quality of life.

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