Science And Health Essay Help?

[Double93]

I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me with my essay. I have to write an essay with the title:
'Describe the evidence that pain perception is not entirely dependent on physical injury'. I have absolutely no idea what the question is asking for me to put in the essay. Has anyone got any ideas or are you able to give me a bit of guidance please? Thanks in advance.

[scorpiojo]

Phantom pain is pain that feels like it's coming from a body part that's no longer there. Doctors once believed this post-amputation phenomenon was a psychological problem, but experts now recognize that these real sensations originate in the spinal cord and brain.

[dannyk13]

You can also suffer pain from things such as a bereavement etc

[Old_Geezer]

I've never been asked to do that sort of thing, but if I were to have to I guess I'd start by look at the effectiveness of placebos and how there could have been no physical improvement directly related to it but symptoms such as pain might well go. Perhaps also the effect of hypnosis, or maybe acupuncture, and how it seems to stop pain or create it. Or I could be totally barking up the wrong tree.

[pixie374]

What level is this for? Different people have different perceptions of the same injuries.

[ladyalex]

You could have a look for some evidence about battle injuries, for example, where troops who have really bad injuries appear to feel little pain until some time after the wound has occurred.

[Hypognosis]

Is there any aneditsl evidence that shark bites are not as painful as they look?

Maybe contrast with the perceived pain from a paper cut, which many of us have first-hand experience of.


p.s. How many lectures did you miss, to be caught out by this question?
;-)

[Hypognosis]

*is there any anecdotal evidence...

*#

[dannyk13]

You could look at it from one definition of pain as 'mental or emotional suffering or torment'

[stuey]

What about the fact that, apparently, during some types of brain surgery the patient is conscious and feels no pain?

[stuey]

P.s., I also agree with Hypo's p.s..

[Double93]

Its a level 1 course done online. It has to be an 800 word essay- 80-100 words for the introduction and the same for conclusion- so about 600 words for main body.
I don't know if i need to go into detail about the 'gate theory' about pain or how the brain perceives pain, as part of the evidence part of the question?

[Hypognosis]

@Double93

It is asking you to "describe the evidence for" (disproportionality between pain perception and scale of injury), so do just that. Perhaps reserve the theory stuff for the conclusion and you can afford to keep it brief if the evidence section points to it being correct.

Painkillers work, so some of the theory must be right. Strangley, placebos work (on some patients) too. You might want to touch on these issues, if the word count permits.

[atalanta]

In the last few days ( literally) there have been reports in the press to the effect that the bigger one's circle of friends, the less one feels pain. This may be because extroverts usually have lots of things to distract them from pain, whereas introverts may have little else to do other than dwelling on how much the pain is hurting. I don't know how they can prove it, but it seems to make some kind of sense.

[pixie374]

Double, they must have given some sort of text with the course?

[Peter Pedant]

// Is there any aneditsl evidence that shark bites are not as painful as they look? //

yeah I missed that bit in my pain lectures

first of all a few paras on pain sensation - the Gate and All that
remember the location of the gate ( rexed's layer ) has not been identified or at least hadnt when I last looked

you have had phantom pain and a bit on pjacebo effect

you also need a bit about allodynia - normal impulse interpreted as pain
wiki has a bit and
oh look a Lancet review here
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(14)70102-4/abstract

and hyperpathia which is kinda like it but different
you will need to google that

oh and throw in analgesia dolorosa - Ihave that in my colostomy scar - it is a bit of a pain - pun intended

and you have a bit of an essay whereas perviously tyou had none !

o and pay more attention to your lectures ....

[Peter Pedant]

I dont know what level 1 is
I have taken it as first year undergrad in england

If it is for miss simpson's ( she's aaaawful ) year 2 project - along with fluffy bunny rabbits where they come from and fridge magnets
then I agree I have over egged the pudding