Abstract
Pain is an uncomfortable feeling that indicates something is wrong in a person’s body and may be acute (short-lived) fast pain or chronic (long-term) slow pain. The sensory receptors for painful stimuli are called nociceptors. Sclerotomes are maps of pain projection from bones, ligaments, and musculoskeletal structures, while dermatomes are areas of skin supplied by nerves from one spinal root. Axons of secondary neurons related to pain sensation begin in laminae I, II, V, VII, and VIII of the spinal gray matter. Pain signals use the neospinothalamic tract for fast pain and the paleospinothalamic tract for slow pain. The body’s pain suppression system is called the analgesia system. Pain is sensed and perceived via afferent pathways beginning in the PNS, reaching the CNS, brainstem, midbrain, diencephalon, thalamus, and cerebral cortex. Pain also uses the efferent pathways descending from the CNS to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Acute pain alerts us about immediately harmful conditions or experiences. Chronic pain persists or recurs for 3 months or more. Neuropathic pain is caused by damage to or dysfunction of the PNS or CNS, not by pain receptors being stimulated. Complex regional pain syndrome is neuropathic pain following soft-tissue or bone injuries or after nerve injuries.
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