11 Jun Wondrous pain

Pain is a remarkable phenomenon; at least, it is remarkable how our body can handle it. I read with passion the book Explain Pain, based on the latest scientific insights. On the cover is a human figure, but displayed in completely different proportions than usual. His body rests on his right hand, while the rest of the body balances curled up in the air. With his left hand, he pinches a foot that floats in front of him, with the leg somehow emerging from the body. It is the imagination of a virtual body, as it is called in this book.

Virtual Body
We all have a real body, but in addition, we also have a virtual body. The virtual body is the imprint of the real body interpreted by the brain. It is shaped by the importance that a particular body part holds in the brain. For example, a pianist has highly sensitive hands in the virtual body: a lot of brain activity is used for hand and finger movements. Similarly, a painful body part can also occupy a large virtual space in the brain.

The first part of the book describes the physical responses to pain in detail. It explains how the body activates pain messengers that are only passed on to the next stage once a certain amount is reached. It shows in how many body systems components of pain registration are present, from the skin and muscles to the nervous system and the brain.

Emotions as a trigger for pain
With a microcamera, we are introduced into the cells where the little messengers are eager to go, and we travel with them through the nerve pathways in the spinal cord upwards into the brain. It is only in the brain that it is decided whether the signal is sufficient to trigger a pain reaction. At the same time, it is made clear that not only physical triggers are converted into little messengers. Emotions can also play a role. We can think of unpleasant scenarios that then evoke fear, which is also interpreted as a trigger and activates the pain reflexes.

The brain can exert extra effort purely to help us. To protect us, the brain triggers the pain alarm even with very small triggers. We have hardly done anything, yet we still feel a sharp sting. You could call it virtual pain, although you really do feel it.
These pain signals can also cause avoidance behavior. After all, it hurts.

Chronic pain
When pain lasts longer than three months, it is called chronic pain. It may be that the actual cause in the body has healed, scans can no longer detect any cause, and yet pain signals continue to be sent. The virtual body part in the brain that corresponded to the cause has meanwhile grown very large. It keeps sending alarms even though there is no reason to.

Re-educating the virtual body
The final chapter describes how to deal with these virtual pains. You could say that you can re-educate the virtual body so that the alarm signals are triggered less and less quickly. The first step is gradual exposure. That is, you go up to just before the pain threshold but not beyond it. Each day you go a little further. The trick is to do this in small steps and to be patient. Slowly, the virtual brain realizes that the situation is safe and that it doesn’t need to sound the alarm. Little by little, you regain the freedom to move.
(next time, part 2 on re-educating the virtual body)

*This post has been automatically translated from Dutch