Characteristics of visceral pain

Pain in any part of the body indicates the presence of an illness, so once this feeling occurs, it is important to find out the cause and actively treat it in order to avoid more serious symptoms. Everyone should also fully understand the characteristics of visceral pain, such as the feeling of mechanical traction; some may have a feeling of spasm, etc., and there is no accurate location of the pain, so it is best to see a doctor for examination.

1 Introduction to visceral pain

Visceral pain is a common clinical symptom, often caused by stimulation such as mechanical traction, spasm, ischemia and inflammation. Its characteristics are as follows.

Inaccurate localization is the most important characteristic of visceral pain. For example, patients with abdominal pain often cannot tell the exact location of the pain, because pain receptors are much more sparsely distributed in the viscera than in the body, and the afferent pathways of visceral sensations are more dispersed.

It occurs slowly and lasts for a long time, that is, it mainly manifests as chronic pain, which often increases gradually, but sometimes can quickly turn into severe pain.

Higher pain threshold. The number of visceral sensory fibers is small, and most of them are fine fibers. The pain threshold is high, and stimulation of normal intensity does not cause subjective sensation. For example, patients do not feel pain when internal organs are squeezed, cut or burned during surgery. However, when organ activity is more intense, visceral sensations can occur, such as the hunger contraction of the stomach, the fullness of the rectum and bladder, etc. It is generally believed that these sensory afferent fibers enter the brainstem along with the parasympathetic nerves. In addition, pain can occur under pathological conditions or extremely strong stimulation. For example, excessive expansion and stretching of visceral organs, smooth muscle spasm, ischemia and accumulation of metabolic products can all stimulate nerve endings and produce visceral pain. It is generally believed that visceral pain fibers often travel with the sympathetic nerves into the spinal cord.

Visceral pain is particularly capable of causing unpleasant emotional activity and is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and changes in cardiovascular and respiratory activity, which may be due to the close relationship between the neural pathways that transmit visceral pain sensations and the efferent pathways that cause these visceral reactions.

2 What are the main characteristics of visceral pain? These three are the most common

Inaccurate positioning

This is the most important characteristic of visceral pain. For example, patients with abdominal pain often cannot tell the exact location of the pain, because pain receptors are much more sparsely distributed in the viscera than in the body, and the afferent pathways of visceral sensations are more scattered.

Occurs slowly and lasts for a long time

That is, it mainly manifests as slow pain, which often increases gradually, but sometimes can quickly turn into severe pain.

Higher pain threshold

The number of visceral sensory fibers is small, and most of them are fine fibers. The pain threshold is high, and stimulation of normal intensity does not cause subjective sensation. For example, patients do not feel pain when internal organs are squeezed, cut or burned during surgery. However, when organ activity is more intense, visceral sensations can occur, such as the hunger contraction of the stomach, the fullness of the rectum and bladder, etc. It is generally believed that these sensory afferent fibers enter the brainstem along with the parasympathetic nerves. In addition, pain can occur under pathological conditions or extremely strong stimulation. For example, excessive expansion and stretching of visceral organs, smooth muscle spasm, ischemia and accumulation of metabolic products can all stimulate nerve endings and produce visceral pain. It is generally believed that visceral pain fibers often travel with the sympathetic nerves into the spinal cord.