5 things you need to know about pain

Pain caused 36 million Americans to quit work each year, making the number of doctors visiting patients up to 70 million times. Studies show that exercise is one of the most effective remedies for chronic pain.

First, let's look directly at the numbers recorded. Pain and normal. About 75 million Americans suffer from chronic pain, or frequent relapses. Migraine effects are dreadful for 25 million people. One in six people has arthritis.

Each year it costs more than $ 50 billion to spend on global pain relief drugs. But for those who suffer from chronic pain, painkillers only work a bit while hormones or other anesthetics can be used as an easy-to-use sedative.

A new general study published last month in the Journal of General Internal Medicine gathered a lot of pain study and found that: 'researchers still do not know how to determine the method. Best treatment for each patient ' . From research into pharmaceuticals to surgery and alternative pharmaceuticals, 'we see a huge gap in our knowledge base' , according to Dr. Matthew J. Bair - assistant professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.

So what is the pain and why do so many people suffer for a long time?

We feel pain when electricity is sent from nerve endings to the brain, whereas the brain releases substances that dissolve pain called endorphin and give rise to reactions from the immediate to the longest. long and from physical to mental. In addition to these, scientific understanding of pain is quite faint. Here's what we know:

1. Scientists don't understand pain

When we are in pain we know. But if scientists can fully grasp the mechanism of pain and its reasons, they can help us more. The American Academy of Pain Medicine defines pain as 'an unpleasant sensation and an emotional response to that feeling' . Some pain is the result of being injured. In addition, it is caused by nerve damage that is not easily known. According to Kathryn Weiner - director of the American Academy of Pain Management, 'pain is very complex, it challenges our ability to make clear definitions. The pain is not simply the transmission of nerve sensation and transmission. The pain is complex emotion, culture, experience, spirit and feeling '.

2. Chronic pain shrinks the brain

Pain caused 36 million Americans to quit work each year, making the number of doctors visiting patients up to 70 million times.Studies show that exercise is one of the most effective remedies for chronic pain.(Photo: Dreamstime)

If you have chronic pain, you will know how aching and tired it is, both physically and mentally. It can make you unable to do anything, frustrating you about the reasons no one else can understand. But that's only half of the story.People with chronic back pain have an 11% smaller brain size than normal people , according to reports published by scientists in 2004. Scientists don't know why. A. Vania Apkarian of Northwestern University said: 'It may be just stress to live with the disease. The neurons are overactive or too tired of activities. '

3. Migraine is associated with sex

Maybe the disease will not rule out the saying 'not today, (I) love' but a study conducted in 2006 proves that people with migraine have 20% higher sexual needs but people with tension headaches . Research shows that sexual desire and migraine can be affected by the same chemical in the brain. Understanding this link more clearly can help find more effective treatments.

4. Women suffer more

Women with more organs feel nervous than men, so they suffer more.(Photo: vietfriendly)

Any man who witnesses pregnant women without using drugs will swear that women can tolerate anything. But the truth is that women feel much more painful than what men can imagine . Women have more organs that feel nervous than men. For example, women have 34 nerve fibers per square centimeter of facial skin, while men only have about 17. In a study published in 2005, women felt more pain throughout their lives, Compared to men, they feel pain in more parts of the body and for longer periods of time.

5. Some animals do not feel pain

Animal studies can provide clues that help alleviate human pain. Take the hairless mole, the animal that lives on the ground almost blinded as an example. A study published this year found it almost does not feel painful with acid or pain caused by chili. If scientists can find out the cause, they can study pain-killing therapies for humans. In 2006, scientists found a chronic pain transfer pathway in mice that they hoped would help them better understand the chronic pain in humans. Lobster does not know what pain is, even if it is boiled, the 2005 study report said that this is just a new series of attacks in the long debate.

What we can do

Exercise is an effective method for many types of chronic pain.

In a study in Italy detailed in the May issue of Cephalalgia, office workers often perform entertainment and posture exercises every 2 to 3 hours. During the 8-month period, they maintained a diet. This group compared with the control group did not change living habits. In the end, the group trained to report their headaches, neck and shoulders decreased by about 40%, they also reduced their use of analgesics by half.

A study published in Arthritis Care and Research in April concluded: 'Physical activity is really a natural pain reliever for most people with arthritis. Even a lifestyle with a small change like walking 10 minutes 3 times a day can reduce the effects of arthritis in the daily activities of the patient, and help prevent further development of the disease. ' , according to Dr. Patience White - public health officer at the Arthritis Foundation. 'Physical activity can actually relieve pain naturally as well as reduce dependence on medications to relieve pain'.