Pain – The Good, The Bad, And What To Do About It
At some point in time or another, every person will experience pain. As a direct result from injury in the form of localized pain, or generalized pain due to disease, this rather ubiquitous condition causes much physical discomfort, and emotional distress, leading to many visits to the doctor, hospitalization, surgery, and many lost hours of productive activities.
Pain is not a disease but rather a nerve response from an outside stimulus such as cold, heat, touch/trauma, or an internal organ dysfunction. These signals, or nerve responses, are being sent to the brain which interprets them as the unpleasant sensation we call pain.
The brain makes an immediate executive decision about the mechanism of pain control needed. In the form of a reflex, motor, or autonomic response depending on the nature and the cause of the pain stimulus received.
Reflex responses allow an individual to escape injury by withdrawing away from the source of injury.
The autonomic visceral-hormonal response to pain includes cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and hormonal changes manifested by an increase in blood pressure, respiratory and cardiovascular rate, as well as gastrointestinal movement in order to control pain.
Repeated or prolonged exposure to the noxious stimuli brings a state of hyperalgesia (increased pain) or sensitization to pain that becomes harder and harder to control. Stronger and stronger pain relief modalities are needed to control the pain unless the root cause is addressed and removed.
Inflammation is the body’s natural protection mechanism that is essential to optimal healing by preventing tissue damage and ultimately complete restoration of the tissue function. It is a vital immune response required for the successful recovery from injury, trauma and infections.
Prolonged exposure to pain can bring behavioral and psychological changes. When allowed to get out of hand they can induce a constant, vicious cycle of destructive behavior and autoimmune inflammatory reactions such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), fibromyalgia, and a multitude of other autoimmune conditions.
NSAIDS and opiates, the mainstream medicine treatment choice for pain and inflammation relief have severe side effects and lead to long term cellular and organ damage, even death.
It is important to choose an alternative system of pain relief and anti-inflammatory therapeutics from natural products especially from plants that can provide long lasting relief naturally with lesser side effects, if any.
For more information and if you desire personal attention with an individualized treatment plan designed just for you, reach out to Dr. Stauceanu at www.4truehealth.com.
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References:
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pain
- The Activator Method, Fuhr, Arlan W, Elsevier, Second Edition, Ch.4: Pain Mechanisms and Control
- Li, R., Ye, J.J., Gan, L. et al. Traumatic inflammatory response: pathophysiological role and clinical value of cytokines. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg (2023), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00068-023-02388-5
- KB. Megha, X. Joseph, V. Akhil, PV. Mohanan, Cascade of immune mechanism and consequences of inflammatory disorders, Phytomedicine, Volume 91, 2021, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944711321002555
- Singh G. Recent considerations in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug gastropathy. Am J Med. 1998 Jul 27; 105(1B): 31S-38S
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