Evil, everybody. Our skin is like a minefield in which any blow, pinch, contact or heat causes a reaction, sometimes our own body causes this suffering when inflammation is triggered, the interesting thing is to know that all these sensations are detected by very specific receptors: the nociceptors.
If there’s one thing we’d like to be human (and any other being who has a central nervous system) is not to feel pain, however, the experience of pain plays a fundamental role in all of us.
- If we lived day to day with immunity from all blows.
- Burns.
- Injuries or physical signs of illness.
- We would certainly have a very short life.
- In addition.
- People with congenital analgesia (insensitivity to pain) are known to have a tragic situation and.
- At the same time.
- Brief existence.
“Pain is more striking than happiness” – Ana Maria Matute-
Pain informs, reveals what we feel and helps us, in turn, to react to dangerous or harmful stimuli, so we can say, almost certainly, that the nociceptors guarantee our survival, allow us to have a better quality of life and also allow us to have a better relationship with ourselves and those around us.
We can’t live without pain. Few certainties are so persistent, however, who are the biological leaders of how we feel?Well, it must be said that the only culprit is the brain, but it needs allies to detect painful stimuli and a complex system that conducts information about this. experience, such as thalamus and sensory inputs.
Nociceptors detect unpleasant sensations. They are nerve endings (the end of axons) located throughout the body, which are found both in our external tissues (skin), and anywhere in our internal physiology (muscles, intestines, bladder, ovaries, etc. ) They assess body damage while we feel pain, transmit this information to the central nervous system.
Out of curiosity, it must be said that not only humans and animals possess these sensory receptors, but simpler organisms, such as those proclaimed (a type of marine invertebrate) also have their nociceptive function, we all need these structures as a defense. conservation mechanism.
The nociceptors form a very heterogeneous mosaic, it can be said that everyone reacts to a stimulus and that different types can be established, scientists continue to struggle to differentiate them. If it could, the pharmaceutical industry could create more accurate and effective chemical drugs to treat pain. This is a goal in which science is gradually progressing.
So, let’s see what types of nociceptors we have in our bodies
We know that nociceptors are structures at the end of axons that respond to harmful thermal, mechanical or chemical stimuli, however, if there is one thing we also know is that there are experiences that are more bearable than others, and conditions that, without knowing why, become states in which pain persists until it becomes chronic.
One thing experts say is that pain works according to the severity of the injury or dysfunction, the pain of a finger cut, for example, will not exist beyond two or three days, as long as we take appropriate disinfection and treatment measures. . However, in case of burns, things change. This injury involves more damaged tissue and makes the healing process more laborious.
On the other hand, it is also important to differentiate nociceptive pain from neuropathic pain. We already know the first one, it is the product of mechanical, thermal or chemical stimuli. However, neuropathic pain results in damage to the nervous system. There may be a small neurological change that causes pain axons or receptors to respond more intensely and sustainably to any stimulus. The latter is related, for example, to pain as exhausting as fibromyalgia.
In conclusion, we must remember what has been said above: science must live up to the challenge of developing more refined and personalized medicines; chemical agents that act on specific nociceptors that trigger pain, suffering that often limits our quality of life.