"(B)ut let a sufferer try to describe a pain in his head to a doctor and language at once runs dry". No one talks about pain as eloquently as Virginia Woolf in her essay, "On Being Ill."
Through the ages, experiencing pain has always been a constant challenge. It is something that all people have to endure. But what is it really?
Pain and the Nervous System
When we experience pain, it means that our brain perceives that an injury or trauma has occurred so it starts to send signals through the nervous system. These signals are sent to the nerve endings that received the injury or trauma and then we feel it - the pain. Essentially, pain is a waving red flag. It tells us that something is wrong. That is why pain plays an important role in diagnosing illnesses. But why is it that sometimes, the pain stays on even after the injury or trauma has completely healed? This type of pain is known as chronic pain and it stays for weeks, months or years even. Chronic pain may or may not be a sign that something else is wrong because chronic pain is not merely a symptom but a disease in itself.
Attempts at Pain Management
As far back as 600 B.C., people had already made unique attempts to treat pain. One of these methods was through the use of electricity and how - by using electric eels! Electric eels were placed on painful body parts and the electric current from the eels minimized pain.
The theory that electricity can be used to treat pain was entertained again much later by no less than Benjamin Franklin himself. It is told that Franklin made attempts to alleviate pain using various electrical treatments as well.
It is disheartening that even with today's modern technology, we are still at war with pain and we are nowhere near winning. Pain has remained a personal battle. Every person has to find his own way to live and survive with pain.
What is the Relationship Between Pain and Electricity?
Pain signals, along with other sensory information, travel along the nervous system to the brain through the spinal cord. In a recent study, a theory that before signals reach the brain, it has to go through a "gate" located at the end of the spinal cord; that this gate can only accommodate a few signals or information at a time. Electrical stimulation causes a tingling sensation which also runs through the same gate. Since the tingling sensation reaches the gate first, then the pain signals can't squeeze through. And if the pain signals don't reach the brain, then the body will not be able to perceive any pain. The results of the study were very promising with a success rate of 90%.
Electrical stimulation is not new but with today's advanced medical equipment and tools, we can achieve what the electric eels were originally set to do.
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