What is pain?

Most of us experience pain in our lives. But do you know what pain is? Here, we will talk about the different types of physical pain and the concept of total pain. Watch on to find out more!
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Recap 📝
According to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with acute or potential tissue damage. It is subjective and is what the patient says it is.

The more common type of pain most of us are familiar with is physical pain. The duration of physical pain can be classified into acute and chronic pain. There are 3 types of physical pain.

1. Visceral pain that happens in internal organs.
- It is difficult to describe and to localise this pain.
- Patients usually experience a sense of tightness and squeezing sensation.

2. Somatic pain that occurs in bones, muscles and skin.
- Somatic pain is well localised and is usually described as an aching or sharp pain.

3. Neuropathic pain, which happens when nerves are injured. Common descriptions include "feeling like pins and needles", "shooting pain" and "burning pain".

"Total pain" comprises of:
1. Physical pain
2. Psychological pain results from unpleasant emotions experienced by patients and these feelings differ in individuals.
3. Spiritual pain happens when patients are faced with an existential crisis. They begin to question their personhood such as "Why is this happening to me?".
4. Social pain arises when patients have worries about their families and the loss of their jobs and income, or they may feel sad that they have lost their roles in the family.

Animation transcript: https://bit.ly/3nplvf0

References
1. Raja SN, Carr DB, Cohen M, et al. The revised international association for the study of pain definition of pain: concepts, challenges, and compromises. PAIN 2020;161:1976-1982.
2. Grichnik KP, Ferrante FM. The difference between acute and chronic pain. Mt Sinai J Med 1991;58:217-220.
3. Carver AC, Foley KM. Types of pain. In: Kufe DW, Pollock RE, Weichselbaum RR, et al., editors. Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine. 6th ed. Hamilton (ON): BC Decker; 2003.
4. Mehta A, Chan LS. Understanding of the concept of "total pain": a prerequisite for pain control. J Hosp Palliat Nurs. 2008;10:26-32.

Content experts: Dr. Ho Peiyan and Henry Kong
Video producer: Perry Lee
Voiceover: Henry Kong
This video is done in collaboration with GERI Institute - https://www.geri.com.sg/

All rights are reserved to GeriCare and there should not be any reproduction, publication, or adaptation of any part of the video content without prior approval from GeriCare.
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Видео What is pain? канала GeriCare