Ethnicity and Pain Relationship Writing Assignment

Ethnicity and Pain Relationship
Author Name
Institution Affiliation
Provide a description of the pathophysiology of acute, chronic, and referred pain along with similarities and differences between them.
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that is associated with potential damage to body tissues. It has multiple causes, and sufferers respond to pain in a variety of ways. For example, some of them may ignore it, and the others may go to the doctor to have a painkiller on an immediate basis. Even the experience of pain differs from one person to the other, and thus, it is quite easy to categorize different types of pain.
Acute Pain
It is an abrupt and sharp form of pain which occurs within the nervous system. Acute pain begins immediately and may last for up to seven days. It is mostly caused due to the damage to certain tissues like bones and muscles, and the onset is accompanied by emotional distress or anxiety. This pain initiates when the peripheral receptors are triggered inside the body, and in turn, they lead to unwanted sensations. Acute pain may take a more serious form when it moves through the spinal cord and reaches the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex has the ability to interpret acute pain in the nervous system of a person.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is likely to last for up to four months. It arises from a minor injury, such as a back sprain, and there can be various ongoing causes, such as illness. As of now, no definite cause of chronic pain has been discovered, but it is believed that chronic pain is associated with sleeping problems, sudden mood changes, fatigue, and decreased appetite. It may limit the body movements of a person, as well as can reduce the strength and flexibility of his muscles. The crucial element associated with the pathophysiology of chronic pain is a nociceptive transmission. This pain manifests itself in the nervous system right after the transmission in the dorsal horn. In some circumstances, chronic pain is the result of a healing process which may or may not be successful depending on various internal and external factors.
Referred Pain
Referred pain is the manifestation of pain from multiple parts of the body. In simple words, it can be said that when a number of body tissues are damaged simultaneously, then referred pain takes place. A person will end up having feelings of restlessness for a short or long term. It is not possible to describe the pathophys...