Can we become hypersensitive to Pain?
Pain for a long period of time can make your Central Nervous System extra sensitive which means that pain may remain even after the cause of creating it is gone.
A patient can become more sensitive and gets more pain with less provocation. Sensitive patients are not only sensitive to things that ache but also to simple touch and light pressure.
Evidence is showing that Pain that IS NOT TREATED and remains for a long time it may eventually ‘REWRITE’ the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), causing pathological changes which in turn creates greater pain.
Pain is REAL, but most of the times it can be just the case of a very loud and intense judgement of something that would normally hurt but not as much.
Imagine that pain is a warning system like the car alarm and been hypersensitive to it will create overreaction to our brain from threats, as it would happen with a hypersensitive car alarm that would get activated only by the wind or just from people passing by.
Increasing evidence exists that shows how touch sensitive nerves that transmit pleasant sensations switch function and start producing pain which can explain how been hypersensitive arises.
It makes more sense when you understand how the pain system works and that everything is regulated from the brain.
Your Physiotherapist will help you understand and realise if you are hypersensitive to pain and advice you on how to break that pain cycle.
