The sensation of pain partly acts as a self preservation method (i.e heat, sharpness = potential damage to the body) is it possible for the pain response to be triggered by something non damaging or vice versa?

Question

The sensation of pain partly acts as a self preservation method (i.e heat, sharpness = potential damage to the body) is it possible for the pain response to be triggered by something non damaging or vice versa?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Your body can also make itself hyper sensitive to stimuli.

Pain is a sensory response to a stimulus of a magnitude that would cause harm to the body.

When you burn your hand it hurts because youve touched something hot enough to damage your hand, to get you to stop touching it.

You will then have a burn – damaged tissues.

These damaged tissues release chemicals that put your pain receptors on edge, because that burn is extra vulnerable.

This is why it doesnt hurt to lightly brush your skin, but it hurts a lot to lightly brush a fresh burn… or push a bruise, move a broken bone etc etc. Your body’s response to protect itself is to make the pain receptors hypersensitive