21/04/2017
Defining pain
Let's begin by considering the question: "What is pain?”
The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain this way:
"Pain is defined as a subjective feeling and is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that is associated with actual or potential tissue or physiological damage. Clients may not be able to verbalise pain but this does not mean that the client is not experiencing pain.”
Defining physical pain pathways and mechanisms of pain
Pain is generally classified by the two physical pain pathways in the body and three mechanisms of pain.
Nociceptive pathway
The nociceptive pathway denotes pain that occurs as a result of the stimulation of nerve endings (called nociceptors) in skin and deep tissues that are sensitive to noxious stimuli.
There are also two distinct mechanisms of nociceptive pain generation:
• Somatic - Pain associated with body surface and linings, that is, pain from skin muscles, tendons and bones. For this reason, somatic pain can be either superficial (on the surface) or deep
• Visceral - Pain associated with deep body cavities and hollow viscus. Viscus is defined as: "An internal organ of the body, specifically one within the chest (as the heart or lungs) or abdomen (as the liver, pancreas or intestines)". Viscus pain relates to pain within and around the organs of the body.
Neuropathic pathway
The neuropathic pathway denotes pain caused by damage to the central or peripheral nervous systems. Neuropathic pain is also referred to as a mechanism of pain generation.
