You grab a
painkiller upon experiencing an injury or a pounding headache but do you really
know the mechanisms behind your pain? All you want is a quick relief from the
pain. You should first understand the way in which the brain feels pain, if you
want to know how analgesics treat pain. Nociception, also known as pain
perception, includes relay of discomforting stimuli from the damaged or injured
part to the central system made of spinal cord and brain. A chain of events
take place in pain perception.
Events in Perception of Pain
1. Injury
Mechanical injuries such as pressure, burn, puncture, cut and/or other
wounds activate the damaged tissues, which secrete chemicals like
prostaglandins, bradykinin, potassium and histamines.
2. Reception
A type of nerve cell known as Nociceptor, senses the stimuli and feels
the chemicals that are released from the injured tissues.
3. Transmission
Transmission of signals to brain takes place from the nociceptor cells
through the neurons located in the central nervous system. Signals travel via
the spinal cord to the brain, through the spinothalamic tract, which is also
referred to as the ‘neural freeway’.
4. Distribution
The relay station medically termed as thalamus, located in the brain
spreads signals to various parts of brain. This process involves multiple pain
centers, not just one. Signal processing is carried out by an area of the brain
known as somatosensory cortex, which makes a person feel the pain.
Suppression of Pain
Somatosensory
cortex, thalamus and hypothalamus release impulses through descending pathways
for inhibiting the ascending impulses of pain, thereby relieving pain. Some
signals release natural pain-healing chemicals like endorphins, dynorphins and
enkephalins. These chemicals block nerve impulse transport between the neurons
situated in brain pathways.
Analgesics as Pain Relievers
Analgesics function
in several ways for the treatment of pain. Non-opioid analgesic drugs like
ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, acetaminophen and NSAIDs of the similar
properties work at the site of injury. They block essential enzymes and prevent
inflammation, in addition to inhibiting the secretion of nociceptor stimulating
chemicals.
Opioid analgesics
like morphine, fentanyl and oxycodone imitate the functions of naturally
occurring pain-alleviating chemicals released by body. Anti-epileptic
medications and antidepressants block nerve impulse transmission in brain, to
cure pain. These medicines are also termed as co-analgesics.
Treating Pain
Pain killers like Generic Ultracet
have proven efficacy to heal pain. Ultracet is composed of two
medications viz acetaminophen and tramadol along with other inactive
agents. It is used for treating mild to
severe pain, for example, pain post surgical or dental procedures. The USFDA
approved this medicine in 2001, for the use as an analgesic.
Both acetaminophen
and tramadol cure pain; but in different manners. Tramadol treats pain in two
ways. It binds itself with opioid receptors present on the nerves, and also
prevents the re-absorption of norepinephrine and serotonin by nerves. It causes
a decreased transmission of signals of pain between the nerves in brain and the
spinal cord.
Acetaminophen
appeases pain in brain and spinal cord by increasing the strength of stimuli of
pain essential to trigger the sensation of pain. It works by inhibiting the
action of an enzyme that manufactures prostaglandins.
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