Cancer
Posted by : Anand Raja
on 5:31 AM
Cancer cells are almost exactly like normal cells in the body, but they multiply out of control and cause tumors to form. These tumors eventually grow large enough to put pressure on nerve endings, blood vessels, air passages in the lungs, and the sensitive covering of bones. This causes pain. Cancer can also damage nerve fibers, and this nerve damage (called neuropathy) causes pain. However, not all cancers are painful. For example, smaller brain tumors are not painful because the brain itself cannot feel pain, despite being made up of billions of nerve cells! Only when the tumor becomes large enough to exert pressure on the skull or blood vessels surrounding the brain do brain tumors become chronically painful.
Backaches
Posted by : Anand Raja
on 5:27 AM
Almost everyone—even young people— has at some point experienced pain in the back, especially the lower back. This can result from overstraining while lifting a heavy object, from injury during sports, from sleeping on an uncomfortable surface, or from other causes. However, some back pains can be defined as chronic and take weeks, months, or even years to recover from. Back pain is usually caused by a compressed nerve, slipped vertebral disk, fracture of a vertebra, muscle strain, infection, tumor, or arthritis. It can result in an inability to sit, stand, or lie down comfortably and often alters a person’s posture. Back pain is often treated with various medications described in this book, but also by chiropractic alignment, yoga, massage, and acupuncture methods.
WHY DO WE FEEL PAIN?
Posted by : Anand Raja
on 5:12 AM
Since we all pretty much hate pain, why do we feel it? What “good” can come from it? The truth is that pain is very, very helpful to us. Humans as a species would likely not have survived very long without the sensation of pain. Pain tells us when something is injuring or damaging our skin,muscle, and other tissues and organs. For example, pain keeps us from burning our hands when lighting a match or starting a fire. Pain tells us we might have a cavity in a tooth or a more serious problem in our teeth (mention the words root canal and most people shudder with fear). Stomach pain tells us we may have eaten something poisonous or that we may have an ulcer. Chest pain tells us we may be having a heart attack. Pain rapidly gets our attention, and we immediately look for ways to get rid of it. Because of pain, we are able to avoid hurting ourselves and damaging our tissues and organs, and we become aware of possible diseases that we may have.
Arthritis
Posted by : Anand Raja
on 5:22 AM
Arthritis is the general term for chronic pain in the joints: the fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, ankles, and feet. There are two types of arthritis— rheumatoid arthritis, which results from an inflammation of the thin membranes that line the joints, and the more common osteoarthritis, which results from a progressive breakdown of the cushions of cartilage between the bones. Both types of arthritis can be extremely painful and result in severe joint pain, stiffness, limited motion, and fatigue. Arthritis is most often found in the elderly and is usually treated with anti-inflammatory medications
Amputation
Posted by : Anand Raja
on 5:20 AM
Occasionally, amputation of a limb is medically necessary after a traumatic accident or injury, to stop the spread of cancer, or to treat severe disease in a limb’s tissue or blood vessels. When a limb is surgically removed, major nerve fibers that supplied the limb are severed. Initially after amputation, the patient feels (usually quite convincingly) that the limb is still attached. This is known as “phantom limb” syndrome. At first, this phantom limb phenomenon is not painful, but it can be very confusing to the patient. Over time,the nerve fibers that once supplied the now missing limb attempt to grow back into the limb, but they have nowhere to go, so they ultimately grow into various tangles. This creates tender spots on the limb stump. These newly sprouted nerve fibers can spontaneously and mistakenly send pain signals to the brain in the form of violent stabs or constant burning or cramping.
Pain is not purely a physiological process
Posted by : Anand Raja
on 7:16 AM
Pain is not purely a physiological process that is experienced the same way in every individual. The perception and tolerance of pain vary widely from person to person. Hollywood heroes such as James Bond, Rambo, and Rocky Balboa seem invincible to pain, but that’s Hollywood. Everyone feels pain, but some have a greater tolerance to it than others. Cultural and psychological factors play a large role in how we experience pain, or at least how we show it. Many cultures,both ancient and modern, have ceremonies and rituals in which individuals (usually adolescent boys or young men) must endure extreme pain and physical demands without emitting so much as a whimper in order to become an “adult,” “man,” or “soldier.” In sports and athletics, pain is seen as something that strengthens our character, talents, and abilities. Hence, the phrase “No pain, no gain.” Ironically, although the ability to endure intense pain has traditionally been viewed as characteristic of being a “man,” it is women who endure one of the most painful experiences possible—childbirth. Yet there is no societal “promotion” or advancement given to women for going through such an excruciating event.
PAIN THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
Posted by : Anand Raja
on 5:18 AM
We all experience acute (short-lived) pain sometime in our lives—a scratch, a paper cut, a hangnail,a fall from a bike, a sock from a baseball, a sprained ankle. Acute pain lasts from a few seconds to a few hours to a few weeks. Some acute pain can be recurrent, coming on for relatively short periods of time and revisiting at frequent intervals. The best example of acute recurrent pain is in people who suffer from recurrent migraine headaches. There is some debate about how to classify these recurrent pain syndromes such as migraine—whether they are acute or chronic pain, or both.Fortunately, acute pain goes away relatively quickly, either on its own or with medication or other medical treatment.
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