Dr. John: Pain
What is pain?
Pain is a commonly misunderstood phenomenon that traditional diagnosis presumes is due to tissue injury that signals the central nervous system. However, according to Dr. Chan Gunn MD, there is actually three distinct categories of pain: nociception, inflammation, and neuropathy.
Nociception is the immediate response sent to the brain indicating tissue injury. Inflammation is a local response to cellular injury that causes swelling, redness, heat and pain as the body’s mechanism for facilitating the healing process. Neuropathy or radiculopathic pain is ongoing pain that has no obvious signs caused by a dysfunction in the peripheral nervous system. This can lead to hypersensitivity in the sensory system.
The last type of pain is commonly seen in our office. These are the aches and pains that have been brought on by poor posture, improper lifting techniques, or increased sedentary lifestyles. This is why you may have pain, but cannot remember “hurting” yourself. Myofascial pain is a common form of neuropathy or radiculopathic pain. Myofascial pain can be that nagging ache in your low back or tight hamstrings or it can be that knot you have in your upper back. These are commonly brought on by years of negative adaptation to our lifestyles. Sitting or standing for long periods of time, lack of activity, lack of stretching can cause muscles to shorten and lead to myofascial pain.