View Of Pain Research Articles

Is Pain “All in your Mind”? Examining the General Public’s Views of Pain

By definition, pain is a sensory and emotional experience that is felt in a particular part of the body. The precise relationship between somatic events at the site where pain is experienced, and central processing giving rise to the mental experience of pain remains the subject of debate, but there is little disagreement in scholarly circles that both aspects of pain are critical to its experience. Recent experimental work, however, suggests a public view that is at odds with this conceptualisation. By demonstrating that the public does not necessarily endorse central tenets of the “mental” view of pain (subjectivity, privacy, and incorrigibility), experimental philosophers have argued that the public holds a more “body-centric” view than most clinicians and scholars. Such a discrepancy would have important implications for how the public interacts with pain science and clinical care. In response, we tested the hypothesis that the public is capable of a more “mind-centric” view of pain. Using a series of vignettes, we demonstrate that in situations which highlight mental aspects of pain the public can, and does, recognize pain as a mental phenomenon. We also demonstrate that the public view is subject to context effects, by showing that the public’s view is modified when situations emphasizing mental and somatic aspects of pain are presented together.

Treat the Patient, Not the Label: A Pain Neuroscience Update

When dealing with chronic pain, it is often not possible for clinicians to provide adequate answers to their patients about what might be wrong, and why they continue to have their pain. This has led to greater use of diagnostic “labels” for conditions such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic Lyme disease, and many others. Assigning such “labels” to patients with chronic pain has far-reaching consequences for all stakeholders. The aim of this clinical commentary is to highlight some of the common threads among 4 particular conditions common to women—fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic Lyme disease—when it comes to the underlying neurobiology and its consequences for the patient and treating clinicians. By taking a “big picture” view of pain as a multiple system output activated in response to threat, we discuss how the various output systems activated can lead to clusters of symptoms that may predispose patients to one or other of these 4 diagnostic conditions. There is now emerging evidence that during the biological response to threat, one output system may be more affected than the others and dominate the clinical picture, hence manifesting as a particular diagnostic condition. We propose that ultimately, these conditions essentially mean the same thing, that the patient has chronic pain, and we advocate for treatment of the patient, not the condition. The ability to look beyond the “label” and seeing the person in front of you is imperative when it comes to providing hope.

Nie-widoki. Fotograficzne narracje o bólu

The article is based on the analyses of two photo-texts by young Polish photographers, Paweł Starzec and Łukasz Gniadek. Both artists show cultural landscapes in a ‘new topography’ style to tell stories about the war trauma of inhabitants of displayed areas. Makeshift by Starzec is dedicated to victims of the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Under the Surface by Gniadek refers to Polish Jews history in Warsaw. Photographers present no visual signs of the bygone tragedy, however – through focusing on landscapes – they direct attention of the viewer to the drama of human loss. Remembering that, according to the title of Susan Sontag’s book, in photography we ‘regard the pain of Others’, I state that a view of pain does not have to be the main means used in visual narration on suffering. Paradoxically, it is a ‘view’ that blocks the empathy for the Other. Thus we need a non-view to understand the experience of those who suffer.

叔本华痛苦观析论

叔本华痛苦观具有世界观、人生观和价值观三重意蕴。以意志作本体说明世界亦表达了一种哲学观；生命意志标示着人是其所是，表现为无休无止的意欲冲动，规定了人的痛苦本质，从而不可避免地陷入虚无。叔本华鲜明地表达了痛苦对人生的积极意义，揭明了“向死而生”机理；痛苦是乐观主义的一幅有效解毒剂，痛苦本身并无价值，而是生命使痛苦有价值，痛苦的价值在于激发出新的价值。 The Schopenhauer’s view of pain has three meanings that are world view, philosophy and sense of worth. Treating the will as noumenon also expresses a view of philosophy; the will of life marks “man is what it is”, showing the endless impulse of desire, and it specifies the nature of human’s pain; thereby it inevitably falls into nothingness. Schopenhauer expressed the positive significance of pain to life clearly, and exposed the mechanism of “borning to die”; pain is an effective antidote of optimism, and the pain itself has no value. But life made the pain worthwhile, and the value of pain is to stimulate new value.

HOMENS NO “LIMITE” DAS DORES NA MUSCULAÇÃO DE UMA ACADEMIA DE GINÁSTICA DE BAIRRO POPULAR: UMA ETNOGRAFIA SOBRE FORMAS PLURAIS DE EXPRESSÃO DA MASCULINIDADE

Este estudo etnográfico trata sobre a relação das representações de corpo, mais especificamente no que diz respeito à dor e sua relação com as expressões da masculinidade. O objetivo foi analisar de que formas as noções de dor e de masculinidades podem atravessar as interações dos praticantes de musculação de uma academia de ginástica de bairro popular do Rio de Janeiro. Pela ótica teórico-metodológica do interacionismo simbólico, foi possível perceber como a diversidade de modos de ser um homem interfere em múltiplas concepções de dores e de limites da gestão de riscos durante as práticas corporais.

The relationships between pain, disability, and health-related quality of life: an 8-year follow-up study of female home care personnel

Purpose: To investigate the development of pain conditions, disability, and health-related quality of life over an 8-year period in home care personnel. Method: In earlier studies of 607 women, we reported baseline data concerning home care personnel. This study reports the results from an 8-year follow-up using a postal questionnaire. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 87%. Prevalences of pain in upper back, lower back, and knees as well as pain intensity of the low back had decreased. Participants with the highest pain intensities of the low back at baseline had relatively lower pain intensities at follow-up. Anatomical spreading of pain was associated with higher average pain intensity. Disability had increased significantly during the time period. In the regression of disability at follow-up, average pain intensity together with disability rating index at baseline were the most important regressors; a similar pattern was found for quality of life. Conclusions: The development of disability differed from that of low-back pain intensity. Spreading of pain and pain intensity across the anatomical regions influenced disability and quality of life over 8 years. When assessing pain, it seems important to determine the spread of pain rather than just focusing on the area with intense pain.Implications for RehabilitationSpreading of pain and the average intensity of pain across the involved anatomical regions have importance for future pain and disability and quality of life.The clinical assessment of subjects with chronic pain prior to rehabilitation interventions has to determine the spreading of pain rather than just focusing on the area with the most intense pain.The different developments over time for pain intensity and disability indicate the need for applying a bio-psycho-social view of pain both when assessing the patient with pain and when discussing the prognosis and course of the actual pain condition with the patient.

Children's pain perspectives

Previous studies on children's pain perspectives remain limited to English-speaking populations. An exploratory cross-sectional descriptive design was used to investigate the developmental progression of children's pain perspectives, including their pain experience, its definition and attributes, causality and coping. The Children's Pain Perspectives Inventory was applied to 180 healthy Spanish children. A coding system was developed following the content analysis method. Three age groups were compared: 4-6 years, corresponding to the Piagetian pre-operational stage of cognitive development; 7-11 years, corresponding to stage of concrete operations; and 12-14 years, corresponding to the period of early formal operations. In children between 4 and 6, the predominant narratives related to physical injuries, the notion of causality and the definition of pain. In children between 7 and 11, the predominant narratives were those in which pain was described as a sensation in one part of the body. The view of pain as having an emotional basis significantly increased with age and was more frequent in adolescents. In contrast, children between 4-6 and 7-11 indicated that pain occurs spontaneously. The denial of any positive aspects of pain significantly decreased with age; some children between 7 and 11 referred to the 'possibility of relief', while the view that pain is a 'learning experience' was significantly more frequent among adolescents aged between 12 and 14 years. The use of cognitive strategies to control pain significantly increased with age. Between 12 and 14 years of age, adolescents communicate pain by non-verbal behaviour and reported that they do not express demands for relief. There was a progression from concrete to more complex notions of pain as age increased. These results may be of use to health professionals and parents to understand how children at various developmental stages express and cope with pain and to develop tools that effectively assess and manage pain in children.

Saved from pain or saved through pain? Modernity, instrumentalization and the religious use of pain as a body technique

Contemporary sociology mirrors Western society in its general aversion and sensitivity to pain, and in its view of pain as an unproductive threat to cultures and identities. This highlights the deconstructive capacities of pain, and marginalizes collectively authorized practices that embrace it as constitutive of cultural meanings and social relationships. After exploring the particularity of this Western orientation to pain — by situating it against processes of instrumentalization and medicalization, and within a broader context of other social developments conducive to a heightening of affect control — this article builds on Mauss’s analysis of ‘body techniques’ in suggesting that the cultural, physiological and psychological dimensions of pain can be combined in various ways. In examining this point further, we then compare contrasting religious engagements with pain as a way of detailing how it can be positively productive of cultural meanings and identities, and conclude by using these comparisons to illuminate the relationship between the current Western approach to pain and the Christian traditions that shaped the West historically.

Entering the World of Pain: Heidegger

Abstract To give oneself over to the essence of pain is to give oneself over to the world. Pain is a fact of the world and in accepting this fact, in entering that world, we break with the tradition of metaphysical subjectivity that dates back to the Greek determination of the human as zôon logon echon. For Heidegger, pain is the surest sign that we wholly belong to this world; in fact, pain is nothing other than our contact with the world and our “openness” to it. In what follows I will first present those aspects of Heidegger's view of pain…

Social Influences on the Concept of Fibromyalgia

Despite relevant evidence of physical illness promoting fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), some authors claim that it is a psychological illness, or due to "psychological amplification." Good evidence for such views is lacking. Selection processes lead to increased rates of psychological illness in general practice and in specialist practice. The physical distress of FMS can increase both anxiety and depression. Questionable research supported by the insurance industry has tended to provide negative and disparaging views of pain. Current imaging studies support the view that central effects connected with FMS relate to the processing of noxious stimulation more than affective disorder.

A new view of pain as a homeostatic emotion

Pain is conventionally viewed as a pattern of convergent activity within the somatosensory system that represents the exteroceptive sense of touch. Accumulating functional, anatomical and imaging findings indicate that pain is generated by specific sensory channels that ascend in a central homeostatic afferent pathway. Phylogenetically new thalamocortical projections in primates provide a sensory image of the physiological condition of the body and, in addition, direct activation of limbic motor cortex. These findings indicate that the human feeling of pain is both a distinct sensation and a motivation – that is, a specific emotion that reflects homeostatic behavioral drive, similar to temperature, itch, hunger and thirst.

Practitioner Review: Communicating with Hospitalised Children: Review and Application of Research Pertaining to Children's Understanding of Health and Illness

There is growing recognition amongst child health care practitioners of children's rights to be informed about their condition and treatment, and to be actively involved in decisions pertaining to their care. In order to facilitate such understanding, there is a need to explore the ways in which such concepts can best be communicated, in particular to younger children whose conceptual ability may be regarded as limited. Consideration of the literature on how children's conceptualisation of health and illness develops reveals diverse perspectives, with seminal work heavily influenced by the work of Piaget (1929), and a belief that the understanding of younger children may be minimal. However, more contemporary theorists refute such beliefs, suggesting that children may have far more potential to understand complex illness concepts than they have previously been given credit for. The work of Carey (1985) and Vygotsky (1962) offers alternative developmental theories congruent with this perspective, which might more appropriately underpin current practice. A variety of clinical situations are then explored in the light of this debate, including preparation of children for hospitalisation, their competence to consent, their views of pain and death, and approaches to child health promotion. Guidelines are offered to practitioners throughout, with the aim of enhancing children's understanding of their conditions, and their active participation in care, which in turn has the potential to optimise care delivery.

Practitioner Review: Communicating with Hospitalised Children: Review and Application of Research Pertaining to Children's Understanding of Health and Illness

There is growing recognition amongst child health care practitioners of children's rights to be informed about their condition and treatment, and to be actively involved in decisions pertaining to their care. In order to facilitate such understanding, there is a need to explore the ways in which such concepts can best be communicated, in particular to younger children whose conceptual ability may be regarded as limited. Consideration of the literature on how children's conceptualisation of health and illness develops reveals diverse perspectives, with seminal work heavily influenced by the work of Piaget (1929), and a belief that the understanding of younger children may be minimal. However, more contemporary theorists refute such beliefs, suggesting that children may have far more potential to understand complex illness concepts than they have previously been given credit for. The work of Carey (1985) and Vygotsky (1962) offers alternative developmental theories congruent with this perspective, which might more appropriately underpin current practice. A variety of clinical situations are then explored in the light of this debate, including preparation of children for hospitalisation, their competence to consent, their views of pain and death, and approaches to child health promotion. Guidelines are offered to practitioners throughout, with the aim of enhancing children's understanding of their conditions, and their active participation in care, which in turn has the potential to optimise care delivery.

Psychological Aspects of Chronic Pain and Disability

Traditional views of pain as either directly associated with physical pathology or psychologically based [psychogenic or motivational] have proven to be inadequate. A range of psychological variables and concepts have been shown to play important roles in pain perception, maintenance and exacerbation of pain, disability, and response to treatment. The role of operant conditioning [learning] and cognitive factors [i.e., beliefs, perceptions of control, coping strategies] on the maintenance and exacerbation of pain and disability are reviewed. Particular attention is given to the effects of psychological factors on behavioral responses and physiological activity associated with pain. It is suggested that rather than viewing the pain experience as either organically-based or psychologically-based that both of these factors need to be viewed as contributors to the perception and response to pain.

An unsympathetic view of pain

An unsympathetic view of pain

Many Views of Pain

No abstract available for this article.

Economic considerations in pain management.

Pain is usually thought of as a symptom requiring examination, investigation and diagnosis, and clinicians have focused their efforts on detecting the cause of the pain and directing treatment to any purported underlying cause , When a patient is suffering acute pain , this is a logical way to proceed, although symptomatic management of the pain itself is accepted as being necessary to humane medical care , For chronic pain, find ing the cause does not always lead to a resolution of the problem. When the cause of the pain is found , it is sometimes a condition which is chronic or relapsing and for which current medical treatments are inadequate to effect a cure . Many musculoskeletal pains, some headaches and neuropathic pains fall into this latter category, Sometimes no cause can be discovered and speculation runs rife as to whether the patient is depressed, hysterical, malingering or has a low pain threshold. However, in the past 20 years a new paradigm has emerged and we have begun to think of pain , particularly chronic pain , as a disease or syndrome in its own right The consequence of this new view of pain has been the burgeoning of pain clinics and pain management programmes for chronic pain, whilst acute pain management involves time, increasingly sophisticated equipment and staff training, This commitment of staff, equipment and other resources to pain management raises questions about the cost-benefit versus efficacy of the enterprise, This article focuses on the current status of pain management and the ongoing debate on its efficacy and economic efficiency.

The Neurophilosophy of Pain

The ability to feel pain is a property of human beings that seems to be based entirely in our biological natures and to place us squarely within the animal kingdom. Yet the experience of pain is often used as an example of a mental attribute with qualitative properties that defeat attempts to identify mental events with physiological mechanisms. I will argue that neurophysiology and psychology help to explain the interwoven biological and subjective features of pain and recommend a view of pain which differs in important respects from the one most commonly accepted.

Objective and subjective aspects of pain

Abstract The aim of this paper is to show that the empirical and conceptual constraints arising from the scientific research on pain phenomena should be taken into account in philosophical discussions concerning the nature and function of pain; otherwise, there is a good chance that philosophers will advocate too simplistic, confused or even outrightly mistaken theories or conceptions of pain. In order to prove this point, one of the most influential philosophical theories of pain—the so‐called perceptual view of pain—is put to scrutiny in the light of the psychological, clinical and neurophysiological data coming from the field of pain research. More specifically, these data are presented in such a way as to show that the sensory quality or sensory aspect of pain is, contrary to the objectivistic claims of the perceptual view of pain, a necessary component of our total pain experience.

A homœopathic view of pain and stress in animals

A homœopathic view of pain and stress in animals