The Body’s Natural Pain Relief Plan

February 14, 2008

How Pain Works

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Long before humans evolved to the point of seeking remedies for pain, the body

devised internal systems to adjust the onslaught of unpleasant sensations. These

systems have guided scientists and physicians in developing new ways of managing

pain. For example, think about when you bang your elbow or shin. One of your

first reactions is to rub it. Why would rubbing the area make it feel better? In

early 1965, Melzack and Wall formulated the “gate-control” theory

of pain to explain this and other pain-related phenomena. Under their theory,

interneurons (small nerve cells that bridge the gap between larger neurons) in

the spinal cord function as gatekeepers for pain signals. If the fine-diameter

nerve fibers of the body — the pain-carrying A-delta and C fibers — are

stimulated, they act on these interneurons, opening the gate: A pain signal is

sent to the brain, and you hurt. But if signals are coming in from other, larger

nerve fibers, the interneurons

garble the message. Little, if any, of the pain signal reaches the brain, and

you don’t hurt — or at least not as much.

This revolutionary theory had a profound effect on pain medicine. For the

first time, doctors began to design therapies that would combat pain by

stimulating other kinds of nerve fibers. As a result, they developed new forms

of treatment such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, and

spinal cord stimulation. The gate-control theory also helped lend theoretical

credibility to therapeutic massage and a host of other alternative treatments.

Over time, scientists also grew to understand that pain is modulated by the

release of pain-suppressing proteins by the brain and the pituitary gland, a

pea-sized gland at the base of the brain. These pain suppressors include

enkephalin and larger proteins called endorphins. Scientists began looking for

these natural chemicals after discovering that the painkilling drug morphine

grabs on to specific receptors on brain and spinal cord cells. It made sense

that the body would also produce substances that fit those receptors; why else

would they be there? As a result of this research, endorphins were first

identified in 1975. Endorphins help offset pain signals traveling up to the

brain, in effect reducing the sensation of pain. Some current pain relief

techniques — such as relaxation therapies, exercise, and TENS — work in part by

inducing the release of endorphins.

Other natural chemicals can help filter out pain signals. For example, while

neurotransmitters play a key role in conveying signals between neurons, not all

neurotransmitters pass pain signals along. Some of these chemicals are

inhibitory and block pain signals from being sent. For example, the

neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine can dampen pain signals. This

understanding has led to the treatment of pain with medications that boost

levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, such as antidepressants.

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February 14, 2008

Yep. That is why when I give an injection to someone I pinch the skin lightly

around the area while I am giving it. I sends the signals of the pressure

around the area to the brain instead of the pain of the needle. (usually

works). It also makes sense why things such as menthol products like Salonpas

patches work or icy hot. It creates the sensation of heat or cold in that area

and dampens the amount of signals that can go to the brain for processing pain.

Great post. Thanks.

Debra V.

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