Pain 1 Flashcards
(13 cards)
Explain how you would use LATER SNAPS in the assessment of pain
Find out mechanism of injury
Determine severity
Find out any associated signs and symptoms
Describe nature of the pain
Asking for the location of the pain, if there are any other symptoms like a fever associated with it, what time the pain started / when did it start happening, where you were when the pain started / what were you doing, anything. that relieves the pain, on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being no pain and 10 being unimaginable pain, describe how the pain feels, is there anything that makes the pain worse, how much is this pain impacting your life, how much pain is reasonable enough for you to handle.
what is the perception of pain called?
nociception
name the 3 receptors that are pressure sensitive
mnemonic: Really Pressured Kinetics
Ruffini’s endings
Pacinian corpuscles
Krause’s end bulbs
name the 3 receptors that are sensitive to fine touch
mnemonic: Mirky Missing Roots
Merkel discs
Meissner’s corpuscles
Root hair plexus
name the 1 receptor that is sensitive to temperatures and pain
free nerve endings
Describe the pathway of pain
mnemonic: Painful Sensations Deliver Deep Stinging Signals That Tell Survival Actions
- pain fibers -> spinal nerve -> dorsal root ganglion -> dorsal (posterior) horn synapse ->secondary neuron -> spinothalamic tract-> thalamus -> tertiary neuron -> somatosensory cortex -> awareness
pain is conducted through A + C fibers in the primary neuron -> spinal nerve -> dorsal root ganglion -> posterior horn synapse (where substance P neurotransmitter is secreted) -> secondary neuron -> decussates and ascends in through the spinothalamic tract (lateral) -> thalamus -> tertiary neurons -> somatosensory cortex -> awareness
explain why a sensory impulse must have a strong enough AP to provide sensation of pain
it must reach threshold because if it doesn’t, an AP will not occur therefore it wouldn’t reach awareness.
So if an impulse is too weak, it will not perceive pain.
what can occur when pain receptors continuously sends out signals to the brain?
pain desensitization can occur as the body gets used to the pain
where can nociceptors be found?
nociceptors can be found anywhere in the body
determine the fastest to slowest types of afferent axon fibers
Fastest to slowest: A-beta (more myelinated), A-delta (myelinated), C (unmyelinated)
In the sensory homunculus, certain body parts are larger, explain why.
Certain body parts are larger as they have more innervation and usually more nociceptors
explain what somatosensory association areas are and what issue can occur with them.
they help recognize sensations linked to previous experiences. This is an issue because certain sensations can be linked with bad experiences.
An example of this would be needles and the fear of needles making the pain worse.
what can cause a heightened awareness of pain?
larger stimuli may trigger many/all receptors
