Pain can originate from all tissues in the body where there are sensory nerves. When these sensory nerves are subjected to stimuli impulses are sent to an area in the brain called the thalamus, and we experience it as pain.
Pains can be divided into acute or chronic pains. Pain may come in attacks or periodically. It may be felt as superficial or deep and can furthermore be characterized as stabbing, stinging, burning, throbbing or dull.
Research indicates that persons afraid of pain also seem to feel pain more strongly than persons who care less about pain. Persons who are used to pain seem also to have a higher threshold for pain. They have accepted their chronic pain and have learned to live with it and may feel that the pain becomes weaker with time.
Referred Pain
The inner organs do not have sensory nerves. Nevertheless disorders in an organ may sometimes cause pain a certain place on the skin. This is called referred pain.
Phantom Pain
Phantom pain is pain in a part of the body which has been removed. More than half of those who loose a part of the body experience phantom pain. The pain often subsides with time, but for a few percent the phantom pain persists. The cause of these pains has never been discovered.
