The anatomy of chronic pain

Written by Dr. Bell Moody, PT, DPT

Listen to the podcast here

Pain-especially chronic pain is an epidemic affecting millions of Americans. And I can say this with 100% certainty, opioids are NOT the answer. Education and caring/invested healthcare providers ARE the answer.

Let's expose the anatomy of pain so that you yourself can break this cycle and/or share this with a friend(s) to empower them over their symptoms.

How is pain transmitted?

Pain is transmitted to the brain through nociceptors on either:

-Type 1 A delta fibers

-Type 2 A delta fibers

-C fibers

Nociceptors can be found throughout the body, in our skin, joints, spinal cord, etc.

Different things will activate nociceptors but usually it's chemicals released in the presence of physical damage OR inflammation from stress.

After nociceptors are activated the brain goes into protection mode, it senses injury and responds by ramping up its "fight or flight" team. The body then begins the inflammation process. With more inflammation chemicals released, nociceptors are activated even more which then leads to more pain.

This can also happen in the absence of physical damage. Nociceptors can be activated with the chemicals released from inflammation that was initiated from stress.

With increased anxiety and fear about our pain ("why am I hurting?" "Should I go to the doctor?" "Is something majorly wrong" "how am I going to manage my responsibilities like this?" "is this going to be with me forever") then our brain begins to focus on it more, which then ramps up the sensitivity of those nerves in that area.

All of this leads to more pain and the cycle never stops.

How do we stop the cycle?

First: read this and know there are steps that you can take to interrupt this cycle and move towards healing

Second: Evaluate your life by writing down all of things that are causing you pain and/or stress

Third: Remove at least one of those things that is causing you increased stress/pain and implement a stress management technique in place of it.

(Head to this blog post for stress management technique options)

Lastly: Find a healthcare provider that is an active listener and is invested in new pain science research and interventions

I'm passionate about helping my patients break through the pain cycle and would love to support you. Email: bellmoodydpt@gmail.com to schedule an appointment