Category: Science Of Pain

Feel Pain
Science Of Pain

How Do We Feel Pain? What Makes Pain Hurt?

Scientists are unraveling the processes within the body that cause the unpleasant feeling of pain. Here’s a straightforward explanation of what happens when you feel one kind of pain.

How Do We Feel Pain?

  1. You prick your finger on anything sharp. This causes tissue injury, which can be read by nociceptors (microscopic pain receptors) in your skin. Every pain receptor makes one end of a nerve cell (neuron). It’s connected to the opposite end in the spinal cord by a long nerve fiber or axon. After the pain receptor is triggered, it transmits an electrical signal up the nerve fiber.
  2. The nerve fiber is bundled with many others to make a peripheral nerve. The electrical signal passes up the
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where does pain come from?
Science Of Pain

Why Do We Feel Pain? How does It Work?

Imagine a life without pain. No aching joints. No stinging sunburns. No throbbing headaches.  Think again if you think that sounds great.

Some individuals can’t sense pain. They are born that way. They also tend to die young- unlike, say, people who cannot hear or see.

Pain protects us. You recoil in pain when you touch a hot stove. That sensation will help you avoid getting a burn that could be risky — even deadly. A foot’s throbbing instructs you to stay off it until it heals, so you don’t do more harm. Without those signs, we would all be in trouble. Big trouble!

Some pain is simple. Burn your skin, pull on a muscle or break a bone, and …

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back of girl
Science Of Pain

Treatment Options To Help Relief Chronic Back Pain

Chronic back pain is a major concern in the healthcare industry in America right now. Figures show that 29% of Americans have some form of lower back pain, and 85% of those must deal with a non-specific issue. The physicians understand that they have ongoing pain with no clear cause of the back pain. The result is a large portion of the population struggling on a daily basis. It also costs the nation as much a $90 billion a year in healthcare and disability.

This is an on-going problem within the US for a couple of reasons. First of all, there is the simple fact that there seems to be no cure for chronic back pain. There are too …

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lower back pain
Science Of Pain

Where Does That Ache Come From? The Science of Back Pain

It is estimated that 8 in every 10 people have at one point in their lives experienced back pain. In fact, so prevalent is back pain that in 2010, the Global Burden of Disease singled it out as the top most cause of disabilities in the world. Unfortunately, back pain can be experienced by almost anyone, regardless of race, age or gender. It is however more likely to be experienced by overweight people, smokers, pregnant ladies, those who are ageing and even those who are experiencing high levels of stress. Although the reasons for experiencing back pain may not be so clear at times, science asserts that there are several potential causes.…

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