Pain – causes, treatment and prevention

Pain is when the body’s pain receptors are stimulated. Like any other messenger cell, they send electrical signals to the brain, which translates them into pain sensations.

Pain is intended as a warning signal and is intended to draw people’s attention to the fact that they are giving their body the wrong treatment – the pain stops them and does not put themselves in further danger.

It would be fatal, for example, if people did not feel any pain from the heat, because then they could burn themselves on hot stovetops and would not notice anything. However, pain often occurs without a directly recognizable source and is then a sign of a disease in the affected area of ​​pain.

causes

Pain is a sensation that the brain controls when it receives a stimulus from a pain cell. Pain does not come from every irritation and it varies depending on how the environment affects the intensity of the sensation.Cuts , pressure, impact, burns , and intense cold can trigger pain cells to trigger a pain sensation. In the inner area of ​​the body, it is contact with toxic substances, internal injuries or diseases such as tumors or infections that lead to pain.

In principle, pain can be felt wherever there are nerves. Whether the pain is mild or severe, it always follows the same pattern and is triggered in the form of an electrical stimulus from the nociceptors to the brain.

Types of pain and course of pain

• knee pain

• Muscle aches

• bone pain

• headache

• Sore throat

• back pain

• hand pain

• arm pain

• leg pain

• foot pain

• stomach pain

• sciatic pain

• toothache

• groin pain

• calf pain

• chest pain

• stomach pain

• abdominal pain

• pain in the face

• shoulder pain

• hip pain

Diagnose

Pain occurs immediately after irritation of the pain cell. Nevertheless, they show a disease-specific course in terms of their intensity and development. External pain triggers such as cuts and burns trigger pain immediately, but this quickly subsides again – unless the wound is larger and deeper and thus stimulates more pain cells. Pain in the inner area of ​​the body, which is due to a disease, usually only occurs in a mild, weak form at the beginning and then gets stronger over time. Pain alone is never an independent disease, but only a symptom – that’s why the pain itself can only be examined in its appearance, but the diagnosis goes further. In the case of pain, the body is usually palpated at the affected areaUltrasound , MRI or CT is examined or a tissue sample is taken.

treatment and therapy

Because pain severely disrupts everyday normal living, it can be controlled with highly effective medications, regardless of the underlying condition. Pain is a symptom of a disease that is always treated.

For mild, everyday pain such as headaches , there are generally available and pharmacy-only painkillers such as ibuprofen or paracetamol , which also have an antipyretic effect. Active ingredients such as diclofenac in ointment or suspension form are recommended for muscle and bone pain .

Severe pain is treated either with high doses of common drugs or with drugs specifically designed for that purpose, such as morphine. However, these active ingredients are a significant burden on the healthy organism, which is why they must be handled with care. They are only suitable for the treatment of pain under medical supervision and should not be administered over a long period of time.

Beyond treating pain symptomatically, it is important to rule out the cause by treating the underlying condition. The painful area can be massaged or treated with heat or cold, which can also help.

prevention

A healthy lifestyle effectively prevents most painful diseases. Pain caused by tension and stress in everyday life has become a widespread disease and can easily be avoided with a better work-life balance, sport and fitness and, of course, with a healthy diet.Pain in the postural apparatus is also common and you should try to compensate for it with a healthy posture. Pain from existing illnesses can often only be avoided by strictly adhering to the intake plan for the previously prescribed painkillers. As a result, the pain cannot occur in the first place – and if it does, then the dosage must be adjusted and the pain of the disease will improve again.

If pain occurs, then one should quickly investigate the cause, because simply ignoring it will only make it worse and it can be assumed that it will no longer be so easy to treat.