This is the second a part of a two-part series examining the psychological and evolutionary explanation why small pains and annoyances can hassle us a lot. Part one it's about pet peeves.
I currently have an ulcer on the inside my lower lip. Sometimes I unintentionally scratch it while chewing, taste blood and wince. This will go away, I do know, but I'm still annoyed that it blocked my enjoyment of enchiladas.
This wound jogs my memory of the weeks of pain I used to be in after burning the roof of my mouth (pizza, after all). Or the ingrown toenail that stopped me from running. Or the blisters on full feet, the sore muscles brought on by dehydration, and the workout that led to chafing on the thighs and bleeding from the nipples.
This also jogs my memory that it's time to order more lube.
My list of pains seems frivolous in comparison with the severe and chronic pain that tens of millions of individuals live with every single day and that’s life-debilitating.
So I'm not complaining that I even have to chew just a little strangely.
But I wondered: Why do a few of us get so upset by these little inconveniences?
Lorimer Moseley, PhD, professor of clinical neuroscience on the University of South Australia, said this query could also be unsuitable.
“The pain of a blunt toe or a muscle cramp is common not Minor,” Moseley said. “What could be the biological mechanism responsible for seemingly minor events and injuries occurring?” So painful?”
Youngest Research has advanced our understanding of the mechanisms of pain, even in seemingly minor injuries.
Pain perception is a complicated process that involves many variables (which part of the body, how long it lasts). But the one thing is that pain should work for you and not against you.
“You have to remember that pain is a protective mechanism,” said Dr. Tiffany Moon, associate professor of anesthesiology and pain management at UT Southwestern Medical Center. “From an evolutionary perspective, it teaches us that you shouldn’t have done something so that you don’t do it again and it doesn’t harm you biologically or reproductively.”
Why can “small” things hurt so much?
Pain as protection
You may have noticed that my examples mostly had to do with skin. And the skin is the first (and therefore most important) layer of protection, said Dr. Hayley Goldbach, a dermatologist at Brown University. It is designed to help us respond quickly, as if we were removing our hand from a hot stove.
“The skin has many nerve endings. Some detect pressure, some detect vibration and some detect pain,” Goldbach said.
Pain is a protective feeling and therefore, like other feelings, is often shaped by previous experiences and experiences, “to some extent by a sophisticated but unconscious assessment of what might happen, by the sensory signal coming from the body , and the context in which it happens, we find ourselves,” Moseley said.
So our bodies knowledge What we have done in the past, how much it has been hurt, and what it needs to do to protect itself.
It comes down to something called somatosensory density, Moseley said: “How good is that this a part of the body at getting accurate, detailed data about what just happened to the brain?” How important is this part of the body to me? How could that be expected?”
How the brain creates these painful experiences is a mystery, Moseley said, but the why is simpler. The brain essentially creates an intense pain experience based on a simple response: the more urgent you need to act, the more painful the pain can be.
It's your brain telling you to take your hand off the hot stove – like right now.
“Easy and equally difficult,” Moseley said.
While some pain can be caused by life-threatening injuries, less threatening events can also be very painful.
“If you burn the roof of your mouth and might't eat or drink, it affects your quality of life,” Moon said. “It's not a pointy pain like a stab within the stomach, nevertheless it is annoying and affects other areas of your life, equivalent to speaking and swallowing.”
The tissue heals and there is also a protective effect: you learn to wait until the hot pizza has cooled down a bit.
Manage your pain
This is what the CDC reports 20% of adults suffer from chronic painAnd Nearly 60% have experienced some type of pain within the last three months (although it is unclear whether respondents also included such minor irritations as hangnails).
But pain sensitivity can vary depending on genetics — the reason why “some people say they’ve a high pain tolerance and others say, 'I'm tiny and might't get a tattoo,'” Moon said. Meaning: We all have different perceptions of pain and how we deal with it.
However, sometimes people get caught in a vicious cycle: something hurts, they worry that it hurts, and that makes everything feel worse. A Distraction technique (Keeping your mind busy while watching TV, reading, meditating, or another activity that focuses the brain on something else) can help with minor pains that you're upset about, Moon said.
What doesn't help: being told by professionals or others that your pain isn't a big deal.
“Nobody wants to find out that everything is in their head,” Moon said. “Sometimes patients just want to be heard when they are in pain. Doctors need to be careful when ignoring patients' pain, such as by rolling their eyes or telling them that they need sunlight and touching grass to make everything feel better. People's perception of pain is her Perception.”
Try these quick fixes for your individual minor aches and pains.
Hangnails. Injuries to the skin hurt more where there’s a high density of nerve endings. “The closer the nerve endings are, the more sensitive the realm is,” said Goldbach. These include injuries to fingertips, lips and genitals. For smaller cuts, clean the realm and apply a gentle ointment equivalent to petroleum jelly until the skin heals.
muscle cramp. Try stretching the cramped muscle after which frivolously massaging it (you should use a foam roller). It will be relaxed with warm water (bath or shower), followed by ice once the pain subsides. A small study room in 2024 showed that meditation had similar effects to stretching exercises to enhance sleep (in patients with liver disease), which is related to nighttime cramps.
Scrub. Clean it and supply petroleum jelly. If it’s severe, it’s possible you’ll need to see a physician for medicated ointment or an antibiotic in case an infection occurs.
Stubby toe. For smaller stubs, it should subside quickly, and ice may also help with the pain. If the issue persists after a couple of hours, there could also be a defect. Small studies show that toe fractures account for about 8 to 9% of all fractures.
Ingrown hairs. Ingrown hairs, pimples and other abscesses are examples of what Goldbach called “pus under pressure.” “These are collections of inflammation or pus that stretch the skin and put pressure on the nerves,” said Goldbach. Most disappear inside per week or two, but you possibly can treat by exfoliating the realm and gently pulling the loops of hair out of the skin with a sterilized needle or needle. If you notice signs of infection, see a physician. If you might have painful pimples, Goldbach says you shouldn't pick or pop them, but as an alternative apply a dab of salicylic acid or a hydrocolloid patch to alleviate the pain.
Burnt tongue or mouth. Cool the realm with drinks or ice. An over-the-counter pain reliever may also help, as can rinsing the realm with salt water Clear the area of bacteria.