What are the Basic Types of Pain?

Posted in Pain Management on September 3, 2011

Summary: Physical pain associated with human beings can be divided into two types-nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain. The correct identification of a pain is very important for its right treatment.

 

Pain is very common for people all over the world. This pain can successfully be classified into two types – nociceptive pain and neuropathic pain. Nociceptive pain is experienced when the body suffers an injury, like a broken bone or a cut or swelling or an injury to the spine, etc. The injury is visible to the eyes and except for the injury there is nothing wrong with the body. The neurological functions of the body are completely normal. Whereas in the case of neuropathic pain there is no apparent injury to be noticed but still the person has a feeling of being in pain.

 

As opposed to nociceptive pain the nervous system of the body malfunctions in case of neuropathic pain. Most of the pain that is felt in the arm, back and leg fall under the division of nociceptive pain. Nociceptive pain can be further grouped into two types- the radicular pain and the somatic pain.

 

Radicular Pain

Pain which is experienced by a person because of some irritation in the root of the nerves is called radicular pain. Like, if a person suffers an injury in a disc of the spinal cord, the whole nerve from the spine to the leg would have the understanding of pain. Along with radicular pain radiculopathy is connected, it deals with the feeling of numbness, tingling, weakness or the loss of reflex of a bundle of nerves.

 

Somatic Pain

Unlike radicular pain which can be felt in any part of the body, somatic pain is felt majorly in the legs and the back. Back pain is a serious problem to both the patient and the doctor. It is difficult to pin point the actual cause of the pain even after getting imaging tests conducted like CT scan, MRI, and X-RAY, etc. The family history of the patient and other physical tests may also be of no help.

 

The three structures at the back of the human body, the facet joints which are small and situated at the back of the spine; the discs which are placed in between the bones of the spine; and the sacroiliac joints at the buttock area are the places where the pain come back even after treatment. The facet joints provide stability, the discs are the ‘shock absorbers’ and the sacroiliac joints help in normal walking. Fluoroscopic or X-Ray guided injections may help to identify the place of the pain and once that is done the pain can be successfully treated.