PAIN PERCEPTION

Pain Perception



Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion2

Sensation and Perception of Pain3

How can people ignore pain or not perceive it4

How the body Identifies pain and Sends those Messages5

How Pills and Pain medicines effect how we perceive pain7

Orbit System9

Pain Management System10

Endorphin Rush11

Examples from Sports and Athletics13

Conclusion15

Pain Perception

Introduction

Pain can be interpreted in different meanings in different situations. According to the International Association for the Study of pain, pain is an unpleasant emotional and sensory experience that occurs when something causes or threatens to cause injury to the body. Pain can be physical, psychological, or socio-cultural. Pain can be manifest in a variety of forms, such as back pain, bone pain, and tooth pain. Pain is a subjective and variable experience and depends on the individual, as individuals may have different thresholds (International Association for the Study of Pain, 2009). Pain occurs through a stimulus which is influenced by psychological and physiological factors after which, it becomes a part of our conscience. When pain is described in these terms, we see that pain is actually a perception like seeing or hearing. When pain occurs or begin to occur, a number of the central nervous system's structures activate, whom clinicians call “central pain matrix”.

Pain signal activation is irrelevant since it does not relate to the capability of the brain to suppress pain. However, an incoming stimulus reaches the brain and creates one's perception of a painful occurrence. This means that it is the brain that initiates and creates the mental state of pain or in other words, the perception about pain. It is also significant to discuss the structures of the brain that associates with the activation of pain because these structures are essentially the ways to the state of what we call “pain”. Because pain is almost universally assumed as a symptom of disease, it often is the symptom that leads patients to consult their doctors. Since each disease causes characteristic patterns of tissue damage; quality, grade and location of pain provide important diagnostic clues, so they are used to assess an effective response to treatment (Findlay, Estabrooks, 2006).

This research paper will discuss in detail, how people do not perceive pain, how their bodies identify pain, how it deals with managing or avoiding pain, how different stimuli react to sense and perceive pain, how pain medicines affect our perceptions of pain and the concepts behind pain management systems, giving relevant examples especially from the athletic areas of sports.

Discussion

In the United States, pain accounts for over 80% of all physician visits ((Potter, Schafer, Mendez, Gjeltema, Lopez, 2001), 50 million are affected by pain, including partial or full disability (Potter, Schafer, Mendez, Gjeltema, Lopez, 2001), 34 million individuals have chronic pain ((Merskey, Bogduk, 1994), and 10% report experiencing pain 100 days or longer each year (Merskey, Bogduk, 1994). As a result, efforts to obtain pain relief for back problems, migraines, and arthritis alone exceeds $40billion annually (Melzack, Katz, 2005), surpassing the treatment cost associated with heart disease, respiratory disease, or cancer ((Potter, Schafer, Mendez, ...