Pain Is a Unique Experience Chapter

As such, a person may be injured in one location, but perceives pain in another location of the body (Voscopoulos & Lema, 2010). Referred pain can be both acute and chronic, depending on the injury or sickness which causes it in each patient case. The one major difference is that referred pain "is experienced at some remove from where the pain actually begins" (Complimentary Therapists, 2013).

Patient Factors

There are a number of patient factors that affect the physiology of pain experienced by each unique individual. Essentially, "chemical, mechanical, and thermal receptors along with leucocytes and macrophages, determine the intensity, location, and duration" of various types of pain (Voscopoulos & Lema, 2010). A number of patient factors, like diet, age, and medical health history can influence the type of pain experienced. Additionally, emotional states of patients can also impact the type of pain experienced, along with the ability to heal properly (Complimentary Therapists, 2013). There are often other medical circumstances that can impact the level and type of pain experienced by patients.For example, chronic pain can develop after a patient has surgery. Pain after surgery varies depending on the type of surgery conducted, but also because of the bodily functions that occur after, such as "a cascade of inter-related events designed to fight infection, limit further damage, and initiate repair. It involves nociception, chemokines, and neurotrophins induce both peripheral and central nerve sensitization to heighten pain awareness in order to limit further injury to the affected area" (Voscopoulos & Lema, 2010). Surgery or other medical treatment strategies can impact the level of pain. Here, the research suggests that "chronic pain development after surgery likely occurs as a result of complex biochemical and pathophysiological mechanisms that differ in type among different surgical procedures" (Voscopoulos & Lema, 2010).

References

Complimentary Therapists. (2013). What is pain? Pain. Web. http://www.complementary-therapists.com/pain/

Voscopoulos, C. & Lema, M. (2010). When does acute pain become chronic? British Journal of Anaesthesia,….....