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Are you ever baffled by some of the technical terms used by pain
experts? If the answer is yes take a look at some of the terms below. If we
are missing any please click onto the feedback page and let us know.
Allodynia
Allodynia is a painful sensation from
a stimulus that would not normally feel painful. For example, someone
with allodynia in the hand may feel pain from a gentle stroking of the
hand. Allodynia has been associated with a number of different
conditions including postherpetic neuralgia, fibromyalgia and
migraine.
Analgesia
Analgesia refers to the idea of pain relief. The term has greek origins -an
("without") and -algia ("pain"). An analgesic is an umbrella term for a
diverse group of drugs that act to reduce pain including: non steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol and opioids.
Causalgia
Causalgia describes a sustained burning sensation, that most often occurs after a traumatic lesion of a peripheral nerve.
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid or as more commonly termed
DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic infomation used in the
development and functioning of all known living organisms. Everything
that makes up the human body has been programmed by our genes. Pain experts sometimes talk about genetic causes of different pain conditions and this means
that the disease has been inherited by the person from their parents.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics is the practice of designing equipment and furniture to
optimise human well being. Essentially, this means making sure the
furniture and equipment fits the user to maximise comfort and reduce the risk of posture related injury. When most people talk about
ergonomics they refer to sitting posture, however ergonomics extends to
a number of other areas. Click here to see some of our ergonomics
products.
Genetics
Genetics is a discipline of biology, that relates to the science of
heredity. In other words, it relates to how human characteristics are
passed onto offspring. We often talk about genetic causes of different
pain conditions and this means that the condition may have been
inherited by the person from their parents.
Hyperaesthesia
Hyperaesthesia simply refers to an increased sensitivity to
stimulation. Hyperaesthesia could affect any sensory organ including
vision (visual hyperaesthesia) and hearing (acoustic hyperaesthesia)
etc. In terms of pain, tactile hyperaesthesia refers to an increased
sensitivity to touch.
Neuralgia
Neuralgia is another term for neuropathic pain or nociceptive pain.
Neuralgia is currently thought to be caused by a dysfunction of one or
more nerves. Approximately 1 in 100 people in the UK have persistent
neuralgia and it is more common in older people. Neuralgia pain is
associated with a number of different disorders including:
• Diabetes
• Shingles
• Herpes virus
• Cancer
• Amputation
Nociception
Nociception is used to refer to the perception of pain. The receptors
involved in the perception of pain are called nociceptors. These
receptors are found in different tissues (including the skin, joints and
bone) and normally only become active with noxious stimuli. A typical
noxious stimuli would be an excessive mechanical stimuli such as
dropping a brick onto your foot.
Noxious
With reference to pain a noxious stimuli is a stimulus that can
potentially cause harm to an organism. For humans, a typical noxious stimulus that would cause pain is a pin prick on the finger.
Pacing
Pacing is essentially an approach used in the management of chronic
pain. It involves spacing the activities throughout the day in a manner
that will help someone increase their daily function without
aggravating the pain further.
Pain team
A pain team is a team of health care practitioners who specialise in
the management of painful conditions. In a hospital the team normally
consists of clinical nurse specialists, consultant anaesthetists and
pharmacists who have a special interest in pain management.
Paraesthesia
Paraesthesia is an abnormal sensation of tingling (pins and needles), prickling or
numbness.
Paraesthesia can be caused by a number of different conditions ranging
from anxiety to neurological disorders.
Placebo
A placebo effect has historically been referred to as a beneficial
effect of a procedure or substance that has no verifiable therapeutic
activity. The placebo effect has been shown to be particularly powerful
when subjects believe the therapy they are having will make them
better. After years of trying to understand the placebo, researchers
have become increasingly convinced of the power of the placebo effect in
pain management and are looking for ways to maximise its potential in
pain control.
Referred pain
Referred pain is used to refer to the perception of pain at a position
on the body away from the site of injury. For example, when people suffer from a
heart attack they often report a pain coming up one of their arms.
Referred pain is thought to occur because nerves from various parts of
the body converge on their way to the spinal cord.
Radicular pain
Radicular pain is a type of pain felt in the extremities such as the
arm and legs and it is thought to be caused by inflammation, pinching
or compression of a nerve root or the nerve itself. A classic example
of a radicular pain is sciatica. It is important to remember that
sciatica is not a condition in itself but a set of symptoms that can be
caused by a number of lower back conditions that put abnormal pressure
on the sciatic nerve. These conditions include disc
herniation, spinal stenosis, pregnancy etc. Sciatica symptoms include
sharp shooting pain in the lower back and buttocks and various parts of
the leg and foot. In addition to pain, there may be muscle weakness and
numbness and or pins and needles. Typically, the symptoms will occur
down one side of the body.
Sensitisation
Sensitization is an phenomenon in which people will feel an
amplification of a stimulus after repeated administrations of a
stimulus. For example, after hitting your thumb with a nail you will
have an increased sensitivity to light touch for a short periodof time.
The increased sensitivity is the result of the progressively amplified sensory
response of the peripheral nerves warning the person that the
stimulation is harmful.
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