What is pain physiologically?
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZThere is a noticeable gap between the individual understanding of the experience of pain, and the scientist's knowledge of the nature of pain.
Different levels of pain can be felt, ranging from one end of the severity scale to the other. There are also understood to be different types of pain, different sensations: there are burning pains, aching pains, dull and sharp pains. People often have emotional reactions to the physical pain that they are experiencing, such as anger or fear; and these feelings are not always easily separated from the physiological sensation of pain.
Pain is usually experienced as being in one particular location of the body - leading us to assume that this is the area of the body which is damaged or malfunctioning in some way. This notion does not sit comfortably with the scientifically-accurate conception of the nature of pain.
An important distinction in an understanding of pain is the difference between 'chronic' and 'acute' pain. The key difference is not, as is commonly believed, the length of time for which the pain has lasted, but the nature and cause of the pain itself. Simply put, acute pain is the symptom of a disease or injury to the body, whereas chronic pain is a disease in itself.
Acute pain is the easier of the two to treat, and medical professionals will usually feel comfortable prescribing pain relief medication and antibiotics to treat the source of the pain. With chronic pain, physicians may be unwilling to prescribe the same strength of pain relief because it is known that the pain may continue for a long period of time, so there is a danger that the patient may become dependent on the drug.