Pain is a warning sign that something is amiss with your nervous system. It’s a prickling, tingling, stinging, burning, or aching sensation. Sharp or mild pain is possible. It could come and go or be constant.
However, the pain might be puzzling at times. Why do some people claim to have a high pain threshold while others squirm at the slightest provocation? What about the pain that has no recognized cause or that does not seem to go away? Here are the things you probably didn’t know about pain.
1. The Body’s Warning System
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Pain is the body’s warning system. Intense pain is a vital urgent warning signal, signaling that you should stop doing things and rest for a while to avoid permanent structural damage. Your pain receptors kicked in as soon as you touched something that could hurt you, sending a very strong message that you should quit before causing more significant damage. This nerve signal tells your body to withdraw from a potentially harmful stimulus right away and avoid it in the future, perhaps saving you a lot of suffering.
2. Chronic Pain
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Chronic pain is defined as discomfort that persists for more than six months. Even after the injury or sickness that caused it has healed or gone away, this type of pain might persist. Pain signals can last for weeks, months, or even years in the neurological system.
It can be caused by disorders in any of the body’s systems, but the neurological system is the most common culprit. Chronic pain can be difficult to solve or relieve, and sufferers frequently see doctors in an attempt to find the appropriate combination of therapy or medication to make their agony go away.
3. Muscle Cramps
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When muscles are asked to operate harder or in a different way than they’re used to, it’s thought that tiny damage to the muscle fibers occurs, resulting in muscle pain or stiffness. But it passes after a while, and you actually feel stronger. This is due to the build-up of lactic acid in your muscles, which causes them to stiffen and become more uncomfortable to move. It eventually releases itself, and they get stronger in the long run.
4. Front Hip
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When the hip muscles are overworked, tension and tendinitis develop. When you run or flex your hip, you may have aches, pains, and stiffness in your hips. However, this isn’t always the case when you’re running too fast. The hip flexor region is affected, and it can be caused by a variety of factors such as a stress fracture or a hernia. A hip flexor strain is the most prevalent, and it’s generally caused by overuse or a lack of sufficient stretching.
5. Wrist Pain
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Excessive use of your keyboard or mouse, as well as your posture when sitting and working at your desk, are the most common causes of wrist pain from computer work. Repetitive Strain Injuries and wrist pain are most commonly caused by using a keyboard.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which transmits impulses from the wrists to the fingers, becomes squeezed. Rheumatoid arthritis has been associated to it, however the most common cause is repeated wrist work. Injections and splints can help, but for more acute pain, surgery is an option.
6. Phantom Pain
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Phantom pain or Ghost pain is pain that appears to originate from a body part that no longer exists. Doctors used to believe that the sensations experienced after amputation were caused by a psychological condition, but experts now know that they are caused by genuine nerves in the spinal cord and brain. Many amputees experience severe pain in their limb, despite the fact that the limb is no longer present!
7. Smoking
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Stress causes pain and a common remedy most people turn to relieve stress is smoking. In truth, the smoker is likely to have more pain in the long run. Smoking has the opposite effect of relieving pain. Smoking poses a major risk to persons who suffer from chronic discomfort. This is because smoking reduces blood flow to joints, which can cause injuries to take longer to heal. That is why doctors frequently advise people to refrain from smoking before or after surgery.
8. Inflammation
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Inflammation is your body’s attempt to heal itself by fighting against things that hurt it, such as infections, injuries, and toxins. When your cells are damaged, your body releases substances that cause your immune system to respond. It can be too much of a good thing in most cases, resulting in chronic pain and trouble moving. It can even be triggered by the foods you eat.
Alcohol, as well as processed and fried foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugars, can cause inflammation. Healthy fats and proteins, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables, can assist to minimise inflammation.
9. Gout
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Gout is an arthritic condition that causes severe discomfort. Sharp crystals can form in the big toe or other joints when your body has too much uric acid, causing gout attacks, which are episodes of swelling and discomfort. Gout can affect anyone. Some symptoms of gout are intense pain, redness, stiffness, and swelling.
10. Joint Pain
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Have you ever heard your grandmother or grandfather moan about their back or knees? This is due to the fact that as we grow older, our bodies begin to wear out. Joints are especially vulnerable because the cartilage and muscle that keep everything moving smoothly wear out before the bone does, making swinging the knees or other components a lot harsher and more uncomfortable.
11. Stress
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Pain is mostly a physical reaction to your body’s sending or receiving of messages, but it also has a mental component. It causes you to be stressed, which in turn causes you to be frustrated and fearful. Stress can amplify the body’s pain response while also making it more difficult to concentrate and solve problems.
12. Move Around
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When in pain, all we could think of is not to move and stay still, thinking it will help the pain subside. However, studies have shown that sitting or lying down in pain makes it worse. When you do have to get up, the discomfort may be too much to bear. It’s better to continue moving and changing positions rather than waiting for it to become necessary. Moving your body can release endorphins, which are pain-killing chemicals that have a similar impact to many pain drugs.
13. Migraine
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A migraine is a headache that is usually moderate or severe and causes throbbing pain on one side of the brain. Many people also experience symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine is a frequent health problem that affects one out of every five women and one out of every fifteen males.
Having sex could be the answer to a splitting headache. Sexual activity was shown to be effective in curing migraines in 60% of sufferers and one-third of patients with cluster headaches, according to researchers at the University of Munster in Germany.
14. Burning Skin
Picture: Healthline
The severity of a scraped and skinned knee varies. Minor skinned knees damage only the top layers of skin and are easily treated at home. The majority of people recommend rubbing alcohol, but why does it burn so badly? The nerve cells beneath the skin are exposed when the skin is sliced or scraped. These are the cells responsible for detecting extremely high temperatures. Their pain threshold is lowered when exposed to alcohol, and you feel pain as a result of your own body temperature!
15. Brain Freeze
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A brain freeze, often known as an ice cream headache, is a severe headache produced by eating or drinking something icy. It’s not dangerous and will pass in a matter of seconds or minutes. If you get one, attempt to get your tongue and throat temperature back to normal.
Sphenopalatine ganglioneuraligia is a disorder that occurs when the pain receptors in your mouth are linked to those in your forehead. As a result, the signals get mixed up, and when your mouth receives the message that something is too hot, it is sent to your brain.
Sources: The Infographics Show, Cleaveland Clinic, NCBI, NHS, Healthline, Gold Touch, Mayo Clinic, My Health Vet, Healthline, Cleaveland Clinic
