Arthritis and fibromyalgia are just two of the diverse causes of somatic pain. For afflicted people, this type of pain can prevent the performance of normal daily activities, and lead to full-blown depression. Unlike the neuropathic pain associated with diabetes-caused peripheral neuropathy, somatic pain is one of two subsets of nociceptivepain. If you have ever burned your fingers on a hot stove or iron, you have experienced nociceptive pain.
The experience of nociceptive pain results from neural transmissions via the Central Nervous System (CNS) that are brain-destined. This type of pain is mainly consequent to damage occurring in bone, soft tissues, or nerve-containing organs. As pain specialists, the physicians and other clinicians at Oklahoma’s Tulsa Pain Consultants are experienced in treating both nociceptive and neuropathic pain.
How Arthritis Causes Somatic Pain
At least 70 percent of all adults aged 55 and older have osteoarthritis, and age-related cartilage diminishment in the joints is the primary underlying reason. Meanwhile, 1.3 million people in the US have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disorder commonly-associated with joint lining inflammation).
Reported in a research article in Arthritis Research and Therapy is that the neuroplastic (inflammatory) pain associated with musculoskeletal damage occurs in response to persistent cartilage injury – such as often occurs upon repeated movement of a painful joint (i.e.,moving that painful hip while walking). Living with chronic joint pain can then lead to a heightened somatic pain sensation beyond the joint.
Somatic pain is generally defined as the result of activity by pain receptors in the deep tissues (or on the surface tissues) of the body. While an impinged nerve can also cause radiating joint pain, the heightened pain perceptions that often accompany chronic joint pain (caused by the overstimulation of nociceptive-mediated neural signaling to the brain) can promote an individual’s experience of somatic pain.
Four Nociceptive Pain Processes Linked to Somatic Pain
According to a report of the American Pain Society, the following are the four nociceptive processes that occur following some type of injury to bone, soft tissues, and/or organs:
- Transduction (the neural conversion of energy from a stimulus to sensory receptor-initiated CNS transmissions).
- Transmission (forwarding of nerve signals from site of origin to CNS, and then to the brain).
- Perception (brain-caused capacity to interpret pain neural transmission signals as a sensation of pain).
- Modulation (inhibitory signaling from brain, and that modulates nerve signal transmission to brain at level of the spinal cord).
Cancer and Somatic Pain
Cancer pain is medically-classified as acute or chronic (and chronic pain is more often linked to a reduced quality of life), as well as by intensity. In patients with varied cancers, chronic pain is often caused by tumors pressing against nerves or organs, or due to biochemicals produced and released by the tumor itself. Somatic pain is especially experienced in patients diagnosed with bone carcinomas. When cancer pain is no longer considered manageable through the use of prescription painkillers, it is frequently termed “breakthrough” pain.
Anxiety and Somatic Pain
According to a Harvard Health publication, there is a connection between anxiety and chronic pain intensity, because the brain signaling in an anxiety attack overlaps with pain signaling in the brain. Indeed, 40 percent of people afflicted with panic disorders also report having chronic pain. Additionally, a medical research article in 2016 suggested that anxiety is a co-morbid condition in around half of all people afflicted with lower back pain.
Tulsa Pain is a pain management practice in Oklahoma that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain. We are dedicated to helping those who are suffering find the relief they deserve. Our team uses a balanced approach by incorporating minimally invasive, outpatient procedures, complementary and alternative medicine, and medication to help patients take control of their pain. Call 918-742-7030 or Request An Appointment to meet with one of our talented pain management specialists today!
The advice and information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational medical material.
