summary: People with chronic pain may be able to retrain their brains to manage or reduce their symptoms when they become sensitive to other treatments.
sauce: conversation
All the emotions we experience have a lot of complex biology going on under our skin.
Pain affects our entire body. In the face of a possible threat, it will help you “detect and protect” in a moment of pain. But over time, our nerve cells can become hypersensitive. this is”sensitization”.
Sensitization can affect anyone, but some may be more susceptible than others because of possible genetic factors, environmental factors, or previous experiences. It may contribute to chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, or back pain.
However, it may be possible to retrain the brain to manage or reduce pain.
‘dangerous! ‘
our bodies are nociceptorYou can think of them like microphones that communicate the word “danger” through wires (nerves and spinal cord) to speakers (brain). When you sprain your ankle, all sorts of little chemical reactions start there.
As sensitization occurs in painful areas of the body, more and more microphones will be enlisted over the course of weeks or months. Danger messages are louder.
Then, in the spinal cord, the chemical reactions and the number of receptors there also adapt to this new demand. The more messages that come out, the more reactions that are triggered and the more messages that are sent to the brain.
And sensitization doesn’t always stop there. The brain can also increase volume by utilizing more wires in the spinal cord reaching the speakers. Over time, the sensitized nervous system feels more and more pain, regardless of the amount of physical damage at the initial site of pain.
Hypersensitivity can cause pain disproportionate to the actual injury (hyperalgesia), pain that spreads to other parts of the body (Referred pain), long lasting pain (chronic or persistent pain), or pain caused by harmless things such as touch, pressure, temperature (Allodynia).
Because pain is a biopsychosocial experience (biological, psychological, and social), you may also experience other symptoms such as fatigue, mood changes, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating.
neuroplasticity
Around the clock, our bodies and brains are constantly changing and adapting. neuroplasticity It’s when the brain changes depending on the experience, good or bad.
Pain Science Research Suggests What We Might Do retraining To improve well-being and harness neuroplasticity. There are several promising approaches aimed at targeting the mechanisms behind sensitization and reversing them.
An example is Step-by-step exercise imageThis technique uses left and right limbs, images, mirror box therapy. it has been tested for conditions like Complex regional pain syndrome (a condition that causes severe pain and swelling in a limb after injury or surgery) and phantom limb pain After cutting. A very gradual exposure to increasing stimuli may be behind these positive effects on the sensitized nervous system.
Although the results are encouraging, more research is needed to confirm its benefits and to better understand how it works. supports a part of app for those who are suffering.
Exercise can also retrain the nervous system.regular physical activity reduce sensitivity By altering processes at the cellular level and readjusting the delivery of seemingly dangerous messages to our nervous system, exercise doesn’t have to be high intensity and it doesn’t have to go to the gym. Low-impact activities such as yoga can be effective in desensitizing the nervous system. safety.
By learning about and changing the way we think about the science of pain, researchers can develop self-management skills, such as pacing activities and gradual exposure to things that have caused pain in the past. I am investigating if it is possible.Understand what pain feels like and why you feel it can help It improves function, reduces fear, and reduces anxiety.
but don’t go alone
If you have chronic or severe pain that interferes with your daily life, see a medical professional, such as a doctor or pain specialist, to diagnose the condition and prescribe appropriate aggressive treatment.
In Australia, various multidisciplinary pain clinic We provide physical therapy such as exercise, psychotherapy such as mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy.Professionals can also help you improve and improve your lifestyle sleepy and diet Manage and reduce pain. Given the complexity of the underlying biology, a multifaceted approach makes the most sense.
Education can help development Pain Literacy and Healthy Habits Prevents sensitization from an early age. Resources such as children’s books, videos, and board games are developed and tested to improve. Understanding Consumers and Communities.
Pain is not an emotion that everyone must suffer in silence or endure alone.
About this pain research news
author: Joshua Pate
sauce: conversation
contact: Joshua Pate – Conversation
image: image is public domain
