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Learn about pain

Everyone experiences pain differently. Research suggests that learning about pain can lead to a gradual reduction in pain.

Explore information and strategies to help you understand your pain and ways to manage it.

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Key takeaways

  • Pain is how your brain protects your from harm.
  • Understanding how pain works can help you manage it.
  • You can try different things to manage your pain, including yoga, meditation and seeking help from specialists.
  • If you’re concerned about chronic pain, see your doctor.
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What is pain?

Pain is a protection system to keep us safe. It’s how our brain signals to our body that there is potential danger.

Pain makes us act in a way that protects us from further harm, like moving away from danger or resting an injury.

Pain can feel different for everyone. It might feel like:

  • throbbing
  • aching
  • stabbing
  • burning
  • cramping
  • shooting pain.

Pain is a complex condition influenced by:

  • physical factors
  • emotional factors
  • psychological factors.
  • Regardless of the cause, your pain is real.

The pain response

When your body senses potential danger to tissues, such as touching something hot, special nerves send signals through your spinal cord to your brain.

Your brain processes these messages and produces a pain response (that’s when you feel pain).

Pain comes from your brain, not your body tissues. Before your brain decides how to respond, it processes:

  • physical factors, such as the type and location of the injury
  • non-physical factors, like past experiences and emotional state.

That’s why pain is different for everyone. For example, 2 people can have the same injury but experience pain in completely different ways.

Watch this video to learn more about the pain response.

Why does some pain become persistent or chronic?

Persistent pain happens when your nervous system becomes overprotective.

When danger messages are repeatedly sent to your spinal cord, it increases the volume of these messages before sending them to the brain. When your brain receives these louder messages, it’s more likely to produce pain.

Over time, this process can make your nervous system more sensitive. It may begin to interpret normal sensations (like hot, cold or movement) as dangerous.

In response, your brain may produce more pain to protect you.

Once your nervous system becomes overprotective, anything can set it off – even your thoughts.

How your thoughts can influence pain

Your thoughts can influence your pain experience. It’s important to remember that pain is your body’s way of protecting itself.

Most of the time, pain is useful. But if it continues after tissues have healed and danger has disappeared, it’s no longer useful.

When you anticipate pain, it can increase your pain response. This may lead to higher levels of stress and anxiety, which can make the pain feel worse. Over time, this cycle can make it harder to cope.

What you can do to manage your pain

You can try different things to help manage your pain.

Related resources

These websites may help you learn more about pain and different coping strategies:

When to see your doctor about pain

If you have chronic pain, it’s important to see your doctor. They may refer you to specialists who can help with pain management.

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