Turning down the volume of pain

For every feeling we experience, there is a lot of complex biology going on underneath our skin.

A man holds his hand to his neck, visibly wincing

When we are sensitised, we may experience pain that is out of proportion to the actual damage. Photo: Pexels, CC BY

Pain involves our whole body. When faced with possible threats, the feeling of pain develops in a split second and can help us to “detect and protect”. But over time, our nerve cells can become over-sensitised. This means they can react more strongly and easily to something that normally wouldn’t hurt or would hurt less. This is called “sensitisation”.

Sensitisation can affect anyone, but some people may be more prone to it than others due to possible genetic factors, environmental factors or previous experiences. Sensitisation can contribute to chronic pain conditions like fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine or low back pain.

But it might be possible to retrain our brains to manage or even reduce pain.

Read the full story on UTS Newsroom: Turning down the volume of pain

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