Understand Pain
Understanding pain can change how you think about chronic pain. Pain is real, but what you feel doesn't always tell you exactly what's happening in the tissues.
What is pain?
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage. It's influenced by biological, psychological, and social contributors.
Pain is produced by the nervous system as part of a protective response. It's not simply a direct measurement of tissue damage.
Pain and nociception are not the same
Nociception is the nervous system detecting and processing potentially harmful stimuli. But nociception isn't pain.
The nervous system can detect something that may be harmful without producing pain. Pain can also occur without ongoing tissue damage. This helps explain why pain isn't simply a measurement of what's happening in the tissues.
Four ideas that can change how you see pain
Pain is protective
Pain is part of the body's protection system. It can motivate you to protect an injured area, change what you're doing, or seek help when something may be wrong.
Pain is influenced by context
Pain is influenced by more than what's happening in the tissues. Expectations, attention, stress, previous experiences, emotions, and the environment can all influence how pain is experienced.
Pain can change
The nervous system can adapt. Understanding pain, changing unhelpful beliefs and behaviors, gradually increasing activity, and addressing the whole person can all influence how chronic pain affects daily life.
Hurt doesn't always mean harm
Pain is real, but pain intensity doesn't always correspond to the amount of tissue damage. Pain can continue after an injury has healed, while significant tissue damage can sometimes occur with surprisingly little pain.
Why scans don't always predict pain
Imaging can be useful for identifying important structural problems, but findings on an MRI or other scan don't always explain how much pain someone experiences.
Changes that appear on imaging, including disc degeneration, bulging discs, and other age-related findings, can also be found in people who have little or no pain. This is one reason healthcare professionals consider symptoms, physical function, history, and the overall context rather than relying on an image alone.
The absence of a dramatic finding on a scan doesn't mean someone's pain isn't real. Likewise, the presence of a structural finding doesn't automatically mean that it's the source of the pain.
Not all pain is the same
Chronic pain can involve different mechanisms. Understanding them can help explain why people with different conditions, or even the same condition, can experience pain in different ways.
Nociceptive pain
Pain related to actual or threatened damage to body tissues, such as after an injury or with some forms of inflammation.
Neuropathic pain
Pain caused by a lesion or disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system. It can include symptoms such as burning, shooting, electric, or tingling pain.
Nociplastic pain
Pain that occurs when the nervous system is processing signals differently, without clear ongoing tissue damage or nerve damage that fully explains the pain.
Mixed pain
Pain involving an overlap of nociceptive, neuropathic, and/or nociplastic mechanisms. A person may have more than one pain mechanism contributing to their experience.
Central sensitization
Central sensitization happens when the nervous system becomes more sensitive and responds more strongly to signals.
This can contribute to increased pain sensitivity and may be one factor contributing to chronic pain. It doesn't explain every case of chronic pain.
Central sensitization and nociplastic pain are related, but they aren't the same thing. Central sensitization describes increased sensitivity in the nervous system, while nociplastic pain describes a type of pain that isn't fully explained by tissue damage or nerve damage.
Central Sensitization: What It Is and How It Relates to Chronic PainWhat this means
Understanding pain doesn't mean ignoring symptoms or assuming that every pain problem is harmless. New, severe, changing, or concerning symptoms should be appropriately evaluated by a healthcare professional.
But when serious causes have been considered or treated, continuing to interpret every painful sensation as a sign of damage can sometimes keep the nervous system focused on protection.
- Pain doesn't always equal tissue damage.
- Pain can persist after tissues have healed.
- Scan findings don't always explain pain severity.
- Fear and avoidance can make it harder to stay active and function.
- The nervous system can adapt, and the pain experience can change.
Ready to take the next step?
Understanding pain is a good place to start. The next step is considering how acceptance, pacing, movement, and other practical strategies can change how chronic pain affects daily life.
EXPLORE ACCEPT PAIN →All information is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Use at your own risk.
By accessing/using this website and any related pages/information/products/services, you agree to the terms and conditions.
All rights reserved.
For personal, non-commercial use.