ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the human experience of pain. It reviews the history of pain, distinguishes between acute and chronic pain and explores the modulation of pain. The chapter describes the value of superficial electrical stimulus in the control of acute pain and evaluates the stimulation of the brain and the spinal cord in the control of pain. There are several different kinds of pain, caused by different mechanisms occurring at the site of the injury. Clinical experience suggests that each different kind of pain requires different treatment or combinations of treatments to produce relief. The situation with chronic pain is different. Depending on the injury there may be some survival value associated with the chronic pain. Humans and other animals instinctively rub or lick small wounds or injuries to reduce the sensation of pain. Name the two main types of nociceptor involved in the perception of pain. The two main types of nociceptor are: mechano-nociceptors and polymodal nociceptors.
