Backaches, migraines, toenails – physical pain can be excruciating. Historically, in some cultures, pain has been considered part of God’s plan, a message from God, a preparation for the afterlife. By the 17th century, French scientists had Rene Descartes He theorized that pain is a kind of mechanical response that arises from sensory sources in our own bodies.
Jonathan Bastian talks with Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington Mark D. Sullivan‘ with Jane Ballantine.The Right to Pain Relief and Other Deep Roots of the Opioid Epidemicdiscusses his research into physical pain and how the intensity and type of pain differ, for example, why a headache or toothache is so different from visceral pain from a cut or a fall.
Sullivan also explains how pain relievers have progressed, from aspirin to oxycodone.of opioid crisisSullivan said, while opioids are good at relieving symptoms in the short term, they have proven to be ineffective and addictive in the long term.
Sullivan explains that the scale of pain is not only ‘intensity’, but the origin and experience of pain are often much more complex, especially in the case of chronic or unexplained pain. In his view, the familiar ‘0 to 10’ pain scale used by hospitals and health care workers should be done away with.
He says that a better understanding of the causes and nature of pain will lead to a focus on alternatives, such as acupuncture, physical therapy and psychotherapy, rather than drug solutions. Sullivan explains that the opioid crisis was not simply the result of unethical health care providers and greedy pharmaceutical companies, but a flawed model of physical suffering and pain relief.
“With policies, it is easier to reduce access to opioids than to increase access to behavioral therapies for pain,” Sullivan explains. “However, it is much more difficult to raise funds for all kinds of treatments such as acupuncture, massage, physical therapy and psychotherapy. [to be] Beneficial for people with chronic pain. “
Mark D. Sullivan, pictured, argues that the familiar ‘0 to 10’ pain scale used by hospitals and health care workers should be abolished. Photo credit: author.
The way humans express pain can be as complex and difficult as treating pain. Elaine Scully, Walter M. Cabot, Professor of Aesthetics and General Value Theory, Harvard University, specializes in the analysis of physical pain and its relationship to great works of art, language, and vocabulary. Scarley is the author of “.Painful Bodies: Creation and Destruction of the WorldIn , she describes the holistic and immense nature of pain. Language often does poorly when there is physical pain, other than uttering descriptive voices and moans.
“When we’re in emotional pain, there are literally hundreds of amazing works of art that solve that problem,” Scully says. “But when it comes to physical pain, there are very few works that deal with it.”
Scarry says pain has many facets and shares the importance of research by psychologists Ronald Melzac and Warren S. Thorgerson In development in 1975 McGill Pain Questionnaire, which is used all over the world today. Like the McGill questionnaire, when patients suffering from pain are presented with a sort of “menu” of adjectives to choose from (words such as flickering, trembling, pulsating, throbbing, throbbing, etc.), they The choice of words and their choices Scarley explains. “It could help doctors diagnose pain and even help predict which pain reliever would be most effective.”
Elaine Scarry in the photo says there is a difference between voluntary and involuntary pain. “An absolutely critical feature of physical pain is the exclusion of agency, the exclusion of consent.” Photo courtesy of Elaine Scarry.
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