central sensitization: Does anybody else have... - Pain Concern

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central sensitization

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Does anybody else have "central sensitization" - where the nervous system goes into overdrive as a reaction to chronic pain.?

I have this I have been told, and I get pain for no reason, it is just my nervous system playing games! If anybody has this do you have any more information on it?

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7 Replies

Hello

When people suffer chronic pain it becomes personal to them, their body becomes sensitised to that pain and then what one person suffers pain another could be more sensitized than the other for the same amount of pain, then the jury is out on that persons suffering.

Sometimes under these circumstances chronic pain can effect different parts of the body and can cause irritation.

Neurological pain again can spring up and it can effect the tendons and nerves in some instances the flesh can feel creepy, you will get associated with that tingling and ichy and tingling in the effected areas of your body. This is in a chronic pain area.

Central sensitization I do not suffer that complaint and I do not know why you have it so I do not really understand your condition, I only understand chronic pain and its causes, and reasons

I hope I have explained the reasons and effects that pain can have nurologically on a persons body that are similair to what you have

All the best

BOB

stampede187 profile image
stampede187

I have heard of this but know very little. It is where the nervous system receives a larger amount of pain signals due to your signals being 'excited' called hypersensitivity. Usually though there would be a cause from either inflamatory pain or neuropathic pain from an injury or condition..... I havent heard of it appearing from nothing, although I am by no means a medical person, so you should ask your GP for more information maybe or ask on a medical forum.

Sorry I cant be more help. Hopefuly someone else on here may have more information; I hope you can get some relief from this.

I get it in the form that the pain message has not switched off. As a result I get pain in an injury that has well and truly healed. I also get pain in all the compensation areas that resulted from the injury, some of which have been resolved and others are still being treated. And I get joint aches for no apparent reason. Headaches and migraines are common too.

Its quite hard on a day to day level, as the aches and pains move around and vary in strength. I never know what I'm going to get. I do have to be careful and ensure it is not actually a real pain and dismiss it.

As its all brain created I do lots of meditation, relaxation and diversional activities to get into the flow (a state of being where you are so engrossed in an activity that several hours pass by and it seems minutes). These all change the brainwaves that your brain is using and can go quite a way to block out the pain messages. The more you do it the more likely the body will accept the new painless state of being. Unfortunately it is a very slow process.

You can achieve similar results with alternative therapies that induce relaxation. Despite the pain being created by the brain for no reason, it does feel very real and affects us in the same way as real pain from an injury or disease.

Best thing to do is read up about it, alongside trigger points and have fun trying all sorts of things to block it out. Pain killers don't work on this type of pain very well.

johnsmith profile image
johnsmith in reply to

Hi Zanna

The pain message has not switched off is a common diagnosis which can be totally untrue.

Injuries form scar tissue and muscles can become contracted. Nerves can stop sliding in their sheaths. All this can cause pain which will not switch off. I can think of several other causes of pain which are caused by muscles doing funny things.

The standard medical consultant does not examine for the list in the above paragraph let alone know anything about that sort of problem.

By untensing muscles you can alter pain being experienced. You reducing the pressure on the pain causing area. You have to be careful on the untensing in case the body compensates by increasing the muscle tension elsewhere.

I am interested in what you think.

Hello John smith

Over many years I have been instructed by various departments into at least two different relaxation techniques. When in pain, my problem is the tendons and shieves and the nerve damage from same,My pain transmits throughout the body I have no scaring only the damaged joints associated with osteo arthritis and rhumo arthritis, many that have taught me have not done this for thirty years

When doing relaxation both Maxwell and Alexander I am able now to slow pulse and heart rate. When in pain I am able too localize pain in selective areas in the body and concentrate and regulate breathing, thus relaxing muscles. I still use tapes from Newcastle. on my pc.

Over the last thirty years I have been able to regulate and cause the body to relax fully.

The only problem I have is that relaxation techniques do not last for very long if the pain is too strong, Chronic pain therefore is a state of mind and becomes selective to the person suffering it and is generally counter productive and is not the same as acute pain that is there for a reason say a headache or toothache, Chronic pain therefore does not switch of the same as acute pain, this can bring about mental and psycological problems i the patient and the pain becomes personal to them. General scar tissue becomes over time a selective chronic pain that is subjective to that person this becomes counter productive to that person and the person becomes sensitized to those pains, and the persons pains become more chronic, mind over matter as some would say is not in this pains vocabulary it becomes a self confirming problem that the patient has too suffer it is therefore a circle of pain that the person cannot get rid off.and cannot control in entireity am Not saying that Chronic pain does not exist it is very real to anyone who has it and will cause total misery to that person as it is a well known medical problem and that is why a sufferer can be so miserable to their condition, this leads to many problems that sufferers have, and tiredness associated with the same. and associated mental exhaustion.that can and will follow is some circumstances. Therefore chronic pain in joints or soft tissue both chronic and acute, including nurological pains are very real and chronic pain very persistent, this will transmit to various parts of the body that chronic or acute pain are not in this is nerve pain like sciatica where nerves can be trapped This is what I was taught when on various courses that I attended in two different hospital areas and it was used for general discussions, over cups of coffee, very heavy.chats

All the best

BOB

teadrinker profile image
teadrinker

A few years ago my pain was really bad. The slightest thing seemed to make it worse. I got a lot of facial pain and even touching my face or putting on make up or washing my hair could set it off. I also had a very red eye, which a pain consultant said was a result of my body responding to the pain in that area. Even things that could cause minor discomfort such as chopping onions would result in agonising pain.

I'm happy to say that after a lot of trial and error my pain is much better managed, and my sensitivity has decreased a lot. Your question has made me appreciate how good things are now compared to then.

juliansmom profile image
juliansmom

I believe this is exactly what I have and after dozens of drs. Pills creams needles,etc... I'm not better. I believe an old trauma to my bladder long healed set off a vicious cycle of incorrect signal back and forth from my brain to my pelvis. I notice if I'm very happy and busy my pain is minimal to gone. But on most regular boring stay at home mom days I'm suffering. Where do I find a doctor that treats this disorder? Regular docs just keep trying to stab me with needles and chemicals and I always turn out worse. I want to start a whole new quest for healing using mind over matter techniques since all tests and scans are normal. Where do I begin?

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