Pain is sensory and emotional protective

system of body associated with actual or potential tissue damage and signals the

individuals to remove the stimulus. It can be typed as physical, psychological and psychogenic or acute or sharp pain last 30 days, sub-acute 1-6 months chronic: slow pain or burning, aching, throbbing – six month or more.

When pain of one part of the body felt in other part is called referred pain e.g. in cancer of tongue pain radiates to ear and to temporal fossa over distribution of auriculotemporal nerve. Allodynia: pain due to painless stimulus. Phantom pain is felt in amputated part from which the brain no longer receives signals i.e. neuropathic pain.

Our nerve system has bundle of fibres or tracts which are ascending i.e. carrying sensation from periphery to centre viz. Anterior Spinothalamic tract carries touch sensation and Lateral Spinothalamic tract carrying pain and temperature sensation. Some tracts are descending i.e. carrying sensation (command) from centre to periphery. Most pain fibres terminate in reticular nuclei of brain stem but small acute pain fibres project to ventrobasal complex of thalamus and there to sensory cortex. The chronic pain fibres are relayed from reticular nuclei to intralaminar nuclei of thalamus and to hypothalamus and other areas of diencephalon.

In adequate treatment of pain is widespread in surgical wards, ICU, emergency and OPD.  Women’s pain is more under treated than men. Besides known clinic treatment acupuncture, clinical hypnosis suggestions about 35% people get mark relief. Epidural anesthesia in child birth, sugar (Sucrose) by mouth in newborn reduces pain and rates & duration of crying.