Everyone experiences pain from time to time. But what is it? What causes us to feel that unpleasant sensation, and why does it sometimes last much longer than we want it to? Well, understanding pain can be simple!
The number one thing to understand about pain is that it is an output from the brain. No, this does not mean that it is fake or imaginary! It is real, and it is a sensation much like thirst or hunger. It tells you to take action.
So why is my brain telling me to feel this way?
Our body is loaded with nerves, which are everywhere. They are there to tell the brain what is going on all the time. They are telling your brain things right now like what the fabric of the shirt you’re wearing feels like, how warm or cold the room is, if your muscles are working or relaxed, etc. All information from the body travels from them to the brain. Then the brain decides what to do with that information.
The brain may say, “Hey, everything’s fine down there, carry on.” This is happening constantly, and we never even realize it.
Or, it might say:
“Hey, something’s going on down there. I don’t know if it’s safe, and I think you should do something about it.” When this happens, the brain sets off an alarm system. This alarm system is pain. It creates an unpleasant sensation to tell you to take action. The process of potentially dangerous signals being sent up to the brain is called nociception. However, hurt does not equal harm; it is only the brain’s understanding of the information it is getting. This begins when the nerves in the body become irritated.
This can only happen a few ways:
- Chemical irritation – This is often from something like inflammation or swelling.
- Mechanical deformation – This is when nerves supplying the skin, muscles, tendons, etc. become compressed or become tensed.
- Thermal irritation – This occurs when you do something like putting your hand on a hot stove!
Again, this happens to alert us of potential danger, and to take action when needed. Oftentimes, this resolves on its own when our tissues heal, inflammation settles down, and we naturally restore movement. However, sometimes the brain isn’t convinced we are OK even after an injury has healed. Over time, the brain may pay more and more attention to the information it gets from the nerves and will tell the nerves to become more sensitive. This can be one of the main sources of chronic pain.
So how do we stop pain? What can physical therapy do for you?
The first step is seeing a physical therapist that can perform an evaluation to identify what type of irritation may be occurring to the nerves, or if the pain is chronic, what may have led to that. Then, a therapist can work with you to help decrease the threat the brain is detecting through pain free movement, manual therapy, cardiovascular exercise, and modalities.