The onset & maintenance of pain
Pain is something that usually acts as a warning signal to tell us that something is wrong with our bodies.
In the Case of Chronic Pain – ‘hurt’ does not necessarily mean ‘harm’-
Rather ‘hurt’ can result from imbalances between
1/ sensory messages relayed to & from the soft tissues, nerve endings and the brain,
2 / inability of the body to effectively ‘inhibit’ the sensations
i.e. to convince the body that a sense of ‘hurting’ no longer means ‘harm’.
Everyone is different
- The physiological and psychological aspects of pain vary among individuals.
- Sometimes the messages within the body become confused – instead of the pain relenting over time, it persists.
- Reports of continued high intensity of pain over time are often associated with spread of pain to adjacent areas or the body. It doesn’t mean that part of the body is injured, rather the pain activity increases in surrounding tissues, e.g. through stimulating chemical and inflammatory messages.
