Pain - An Introduction

«Pain – So simple and yet so complex»

Why do we feel pain? Where does it come from? What purpose does it serve? Why do people perceive pain differently?

At BodyLab, osteopathy and Physiotherapy, in Zurich Altstetten, we deal with the subject of pain every day. After all, the main reason for visiting a doctor, osteopath, or physiotherapist is often the presence of pain—whether it arose from an injury, aging, or "simply" from a lack of movement.

Physiologically speaking, pain has a life-sustaining purpose. Pain arises from potential or actual tissue damage, meaning your brain can warn you before an injury has even occurred. But even when tissue has already been injured, your brain sends you signals so you protect the damaged tissue and thereby support healing. However, there are situations where our pain system fails—for example, there are certain diseases, such as various types of cancer, that do not cause any pain.

This is the simpler aspect of pain. It becomes complex when you try to truly understand pain—especially pain that does not appear life-threatening at first glance. The reason for this is that your brain has decided, for whatever reason, that you, or rather your body and tissue, are in danger. The difficult part is figuring out why your brain reached this conclusion.

First of all, pain is perceived with varying intensity by everyone. This is because pain intensity is independent of the actual extent of the tissue damage. Because pain is produced by the brain! The brain decides how threatening the damage is depending on your life situation. Ergo: pain makes sense!

For example, if you break your leg during a hike and seek shelter in a cave where a bear happens to be lying, your brain "forgets" the pain of the broken leg, because the tissue damage is far less life-threatening than the bear you are now running away from!

At the center of this is the processing of sensory information that is forwarded from your nervous system to your brain. This processing is not only based on the actual signals from the injured tissue; it involves a complex process that takes other factors into account. These factors include, for example, reason and emotions, and the resulting potential consequences for your life or survival. Age, gender, culture, and context also play a very important role here. A lack of knowledge and understanding also has a major influence on pain intensity. The fear that something could be serious can heighten the threat of the injury. However, it also works the other way around: the better informed you are as a patient about the consequences of surgery, the less anxiety arises, and you may even need less pain medication.

Another example to illustrate this is a minor finger injury (a paper cut). For an office worker, such an injury is annoying, but it does not significantly restrict your daily routine or workday (context). However, if your livelihood depends heavily on fine finger sensitivity (pianist, violinist, surgeon, etc.), the finger injury can feel much more painful because your professional existence is compromised.

In short:

• Pain is produced by the brain

• Pain serves a life-sustaining purpose

• The pain experience is generated by many simultaneous sensory and emotional signals

• To understand pain, these signals must be recognized and evaluated in relation to one another

  
  

Whenever you need us, we are here for you!

Your BodyLab team, your specialists for physical Conditions

Osteopathy and Physiotherapy | Rehabilitation and Training

 Zurich Altstetten

Find out more on our page chronic pain.

Cover Image Credit

Edvard Munch, The Scream, marked as public domain, details on Wikimedia Commons