Visceral pain occurs when there is damage or alteration in internal organs and tissues. This convergence of visceral and somatic messages may be one of the reasons for the visceral pain that usually accompanies somatic pain conditions or vice versa. There is no pathology or cause of pain in these referred somatic sites; however, pain will be experienced in this location, often with significant intensity. It is important to note that the treatment of both forms of pain is progressively becoming independent of the disease that accompanies it and pain itself is considered a syndrome, rather than a symptom or a by-product of the disease (.
By accurately reporting what the pain feels like, you can help your healthcare provider diagnose your problem and prescribe the best treatment regimen. A typical pain sensation due to an injury, such as hitting your knee or cutting your lip, causes sudden, sharp pain. Most people have experienced pain in the internal organs, ranging from the mild discomfort of indigestion to the agony of renal colic, and women suffer from many forms of visceral pain associated with reproductive life. In addition, if the cause of the pain is not found within a reasonable time, symptomatic pain treatment could be beneficial to the patient in order to prevent long-term sensitization and provide immediate relief.
Opioids are usually reserved for severe pain and are given for a short time to avoid dependency problems. The medial thalamic nuclei are believed to play a more important role in the affective and motivational aspects of pain processing (4) and, consequently, are projected to the various areas of the prefrontal cortex that are significantly correlated with responses to visceral pain in imaging studies, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (50-5). Because many nerves supply muscles, bones, and other soft tissue, somatic pain is often easier to localize than visceral pain. Most somatic pain responds well to over-the-counter medications, such as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) or other pain relievers.
However, despite a lot that happens and despite recent advances in pain therapy, visceral pain remains poorly understood. When the nervous system is ready for a hyperreactive response to pain, visceral pain may begin at the site of the organ or in the brain as a pathophysiological response to stress. Some people experience extreme visceral pain due to non-serious conditions, while others experience less pain than you would expect from something as serious as a heart attack.
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