What is Nociceptive pain and how to manage it?

Nociceptive pain is generally acute and develops to respond to a specific situation. It tends to go away as the affected or injured body part gets healed. For example, this type of pain occurs due to a broken ankle and it gets better as your ankle heals.

The human body consists of some specific nerve cells called nociceptors that identify noxious stimuli or things that can harm your body, such as extreme heat, cold, pinch, pressure, and chemicals. These signals are then passed to the central nervous system in your brain, resulting in Nociceptive Pain.

All this process happens so quickly in real-time, which is why people immediately remove their hands when they touch something hot or cold or take off an injured ankle. The information provided by nociceptive pain signals can also help the body keep safe and heal by itself.

Types

There are mainly two types of nociceptive pain which is known as Somatic, and visceral. Though both types of these pains are detected by the same nerves and the triggers caused by both pains are also similar, they are not usually the same.

Somatic pain

Somatic pain generally feels like a sharp pain, dull ache, or like a throbbing sensation. It is detected by the nerves located in the skin, muscles, subcutaneous tissues, and joints. This pain is generally caused or triggered by a cut, bruise, or arthritis.

Visceral pain

Visceral pain originates from your internal organs (for example, a stomach ache or pain from a kidney stone). This pain is detected by the nociceptors in your internal organs.

Unlike somatic pain, you cannot feel visceral pain exactly in the area that is injured or inflamed. For example, this pain can be felt further away from the actual origin, this is known as referred pain.

The major difference between these two pains is that visceral pain may be linked with symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, or jitteriness, which is less common with somatic pain.

How to treat or manage nociceptive pain?

When it comes to “how to treat nociceptive pain?” It mainly depends on the specific injury, and whether the pain is acute, or chronic. For example, an acute injury such as a hard bump on a tail may simply require ice rubbing or a maximum of a one-time dose of a Nonsteroidal painkiller such as ibuprofen. On the other hand, if the pain is chronic like from fibromyalgia, it may require daily medication to stop pain signals.

Of course, besides medications, there are a variety of therapies that are used in nociceptive pain treatment, including:

• Physical therapy
• Hot and cold therapy
• Acupuncture
• Yoga
• Alternative treatments like acupuncture
• Surgery (for example, for pain from a visceral problem, like appendicitis)

Complications of nociceptive pain

Since pain means discomfort in the body, it can be hard to cope with it. This unrelenting pain can interfere with your daily life, and this means that something is wrong. While prescription pain medication can be helpful, they are addictive and can cause other serious health issues. If you’re experiencing severe pain in your body that does not get better, connect today with Herbs for Pain which can help you with a complete guide to ease your pain in natural ways and stop it in its tracks.