Just Pain

I'm working up a couple of research proposals having to do with chronic pain. This subject is actually challenging clinically and philosophically, which means it also very challenging for physician-patient communication and relationships.There used to be great controversy over the very existence of fibromyalgia, or the usefulness of the label. It just meant people with unexplained, widespread pain. People also would present with unexplained localized pain, such as low back pain or temporofacial pain. They'd get MRIs and what not and doctors could find no physiological explanation. Many people viewed these situations as having a psychodynamic origin, in other words the person was in fact obtaining some sort of reward from being sick or disabled, or acting out guilt or self-loathing, or just generally nuts.Now we understand that people with otherwise unexplainable chronic pain are experiencing what's called Central Sensitization Syndrome (CSS). Pain signals (there's a fancy word for them, "nociceptive" which the blogger spell checker doesn't even recognize) do originate at the site where pain is perceived, but the sensation of pain is constructed in the brain, with maybe some intermediate processing in the spinal chord. The brain can also send signals back down to dampen nociception.So what happens is that the systems in the brain that signal pain to your conscious awareness become hyperactive. If you close your eyes and just pay attention to your body right now, you will notic...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs