Anatomy of Pain

This description began as a paper presented at the Ontario Inter-Urban Pain Conference, held in
Waterloo 29/11/1996, by Don Ranney, MD, FRCS, Founder and at that time Head of the School of
Anatomy, University of Waterloo; Consultant, Orthopaedic Medicine and President, Disability
Assessment Services, Inc.
This was tho opening presentation at a conference on Mind-Body Pain and has been updated many
times since then as new information was discovered.

What is Pain?
Four centuries ago Descarte described pain in terms of an alarm bell ringing in a bell tower. From this
came the concept that there can be false alarms and we have therefore come to distinguish
"psychogenic pain" from "real pain". This is now known to be a false distinction, but still we hear today
the concept of hurt being not the same thing as harm, with the implication that much that hurts may be
ignored. The International Association for the Study of Pain has published the following definition of
pain which reflects what has been learned about pain in the last four centuries, and primarily in the
past half century.
Pain is "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue
damage, or described in terms of such damage" (Merskey, 1986).
From this definition we see that pain is a perception in the same way that vision and hearing are. By
this I mean that its significance is determined by the cerebral cortex in the light of other activity there.
It involves sensitivity to chemical changes in the tissues and then interpretation that such changes
are, or may be harmful. This perception is real, whether or not harm has occurred or is occurring.
Cognition is involved in the formulation of this perception. There are emotional consequences, and
behavioral responses to the cognitive and emotional aspects of pain.

Pain may be classified in many ways.

As a clinician dealing with soft tissue trauma, I have found it helpful to think of pain as being
peripheral or central in origin. Peripheral pain originates in muscles, tendons, etc., or in the
peripheral nerves themselves. Pain originating in the peripheral nerves, i.e. via trauma to the nerves,
is neurogenic pain. Central pain arises from central nervous system pathology ... a "primary" CNS
dysfuntion. Some of this may arise due to maladaptive thought processes, true "psychogenic" pain.
But MOST of it is due to structural changes in the CNS, e.g., spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis,
stroke and epilepsy (Boivie, 1996).
Another classification, that distinguishes between normally functioning nerves and nerves whose
function has been altered by pathology is as follows:

Nociceptive pain is pain in which normal nerves transmit information to the central nervous
system about trauma to tissues (nocere = to injure, Latin).

Neuropathic pain is pain in which there are structural and/or functional nervous system
adaptations secondary to injury, that take place either centrally or peripherally (Jensen, 1996).
Much of what has previously been considered psychogenic pain is now better understood as
neuropathic pain of central origin. The IASP defines central pain as "pain initiated or caused
by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the central nervous system" (Merskey, and Bogduk,
1994). "Neuropathic" should not be confused with "neurogenic", a term used to describe pain
resulting from injury to a peripheral nerve but without necessarily implying any "neuropathy".

The persistent pain often experienced in chronic work-related musculoskeletal injuries, as well as in
those with long continued pain for other reasons, may persist because of a Central Nervous System
dysfunction. But this is a CNS dysfunction secondary to long continued peripheral pain.
With this introduction we can now begin to follow the pathways by which information is transmitted
centrally and is ultimately perceived as pain. It travels to the spinal cord or brainstem as a train of
electrical impulses in C fibres or A delta fibres of spinal or certain cranial nerves. After crossing the
synaptic junction through an extremely complex series of chemical interactions the, signal passes
once more electrically to higher CNS levels in Nociceptive Specific, or less pain specific Wide
Dynamic Range neurons.
We shall examine in turn peripheral nerve sensitivity, dorsal horn transmission, dorsal horn
pathophysiology, supraspinal modulation of the nociceptive signal, ascending pathways, and cortical
reception areas involved in pain perception. While doing so we should keep in mind an expression of
Dr Ken Casey, "Nociception is born in the dorsal horn, but we don't call it pain till it reaches the brain"
(IASP Conference, Vancouver, August 1996).

Peripheral Nerve Sensitivity

Tissue damage results in a drop in pH and release of chemicals, e.g. histamines and bradykinin, to
which small non-myelinated C fibres are sensitive. Fitzgerald and Woolf (1984) have hypothesized
that C fibres are primarily chemical sensors, although they do respond also to high level mechanical
and thermal stimulation. The C fibres respond by generating an electrical impulse which travels along
the nerve to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Activity of the C fibres may be up-regulated
peripherally by serotonin (i.e., 5-hydroxy tryptamine), prostaglandins, thromboxane, and leucotrienes
in the damaged tissues. This is referred to as peripheral sensitization in contrast to central
sensitization which occurs at the dorsal horn. Both occur in chronic pain. Substance P may also be
released peripherally with resultant increase in peripheral vasodilation and further sensitization of the
C fibre's peripheral ending. Even chemical products of tissue breakdown may sometimes enter the
neuron and be transported centrally to exert an effect at the dorsal horn synapse.

Dorsal Horn Transmission

At the dorsal horn, in addition to releasing substance P, C fibres release other excitatory
neurotransmitters: glutamate, aspartate, calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP), and a gas, nitric
oxide (see Jensen, 1996, fig.1, p.82). There is some confusion over nitric oxide. Its exact role remains
to be fully defined, and it is known to be produced on the other side of the synapse in addition to many
other places. Neurotransmission is extremely complex involving:

all six layers of the dorsal horn (primarily layers one, two, and five)

influx of sodium and calcium ions from the interstitial spaces and outflow of potassium ions
from within the nerve cell.

temporal summation. If a stimulus arrives at the synapse in the dorsal horn more frequently
than once every 3 seconds, the post-synaptic electrical discharge becomes more prolonged,
with consequent increase in the severity of the pain.This temporal summation is termed
"windup". To explore further the relationship between windup and central sensitization see
Price (1999), p.90-96.

competition for opporunities to stimulate ascending pathways. It is at this level that

encephalin-producing descending fibres from the brain stem interact with both pre-synaptic
and post-synaptic cells to inhibit transmission. Also at this level, at what has been called the
"pain gate" by Melzack and Wall, incoming signals in the A beta fibres of a peripheral nerve
can alter sensitivity of the post-synaptic cells to painful stimuli arriving in C and A delta fibres.
For further information see Jensen (1996).

Dorsal Horn Pathophysiology

Neuropathic changes can occur, especially when pain persists. The nature of these, the
circumstances under which they occur, as well as how to prevent and even reverse them, is the focus
of much current research. The following is by no means a complete description, and is given to
stimulate further reading.

Central sensitization is characteristic of chronic pain. With long continued stimulation, there
are physiological changes.But many are structural in nature. For example, changes in
expression of genes (e.g.,c-fos and c-jun) occurs within the secondary (e.g., spinothalamic or
spinoreticular) neurons that arise in the dorsal horn. These genetic changes affect the volume
and type of enzymes and neuropeptides produced. Thereby they induce long term changes in
these post-synaptic cells. One of these changes is that nerve growth factor begins to be
produced in sufficient quantities as to promote alteration in patterns of nerve connections in
the dorsal horn of the spinal cord at or about the level of incoming pain fibres. This structural
reorganization in the spinal cord's dorsal horn is one factor that can explain "abnormal"
spread of pain that is still referred to as "psychogenic" by those who, nearly four centuries
later, continue to view pain as Descarte did. Incoming fibres from a particular area are able to
gain access to neurons ascending to conciousness that normally just carry information from
areas some distance away, involving different levels of the spinal cord (Jensen, 1996). For
example, after crushing the sciatic nerve in rats there is initially hyperalgesia (an exaggerated
response to painful stimuli) in the skin supplied by the sciatic nerve. After a few days, there is
hyperalgesia well beyond this area, even in the area supplied by the femoral nerve. Hoheisal
et al (1994) and Mense et al (1997), members of the same team, have shown similar effects
when the sciatic nerve is stimulated after the gastrocnemius-soleus muscle in rats has
become inflammed.

Dorsal ganglion reflexes may be generated. Under certain conditions there can be reflex
activation of the incoming sensory fibre. This not only reinforces the incoming stimulus; it also
sends a retrograde electrical impulse which discharges substance P peripherally into the
tissues, with consequent increase in inflammation.

Volume transmission is the extrasynaptic spread of neuroactive molecules well beyond their
target sites. These substances may lead to long term potentiation of primary afferent
neurotransmission and lasting changes in both neuronal excitability and gene expression.
This mechanism may also be involved in the spread of pain perception beyond the area of
injury.

Several supraspinal pain modulating loops exist. These can increase or decrease the amount
of pain.

Other descending anatomical pathways exist that are primarily inhibitory, but some may
facilitate pain perception. These and the supraspinal modulating loops will now be briefly
described. Much less is known about them than about lower level CNS changes, but research
continues daily to bring us more information.

Supraspinal Modulating Loops

Inhibition of pain is essential at times when safety is more important, as when fleeing from danger. Yet
pain is intended to tell us when something needs to be done about a damaged area. The brain is
supposed to help us sort out whether to pay attention to the painful area or ignore it. So it should not
surprise us that there are mechanisms to draw our attention to a source of pain, and others to help us
overlook it. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, as a treatment of chronic pain, makes use of the following
anatomical pathways, many of which are called antinociceptive because they carry stimuli that inhibit
pain perception.

It has been known for some time that the reticular formation of the brain stem is involved in either
facilitation or inhibition of perception of pain under the influence of cortico-reticular signals. It was
assumed there was one spinoreticular/reticulospinal loop on each side of the body. It is now known
there are at least five on each side, that these pass information in both directions, and may be
inhibitory or facilitatory. They connect the spinal cord to the following areas of the brainstem:
1. the dorsolateral pontine tegmentum
2. the rostral ventral medulla
3. the dorsal medulla
4. the caudal medulla
5. the lateral hypothalamus
The effect of stimulating some of these centres can last from an hour to several days. There are
pharmacological as well as anatomical distinctions between them.

Other Descending Pain Modulating Pathways

These arise in the:

cerebral cortex and pass to the

o

nucleus gracilis and cuneatus

reticular formation

thalamus

periaqueductal grey matter and pass to the

o

dorsal horn directly

raphe nuclei of medulla, and then to dorsal horn

locus ceruleus and pass to the

o

dorsal horn of spinal cord

Spinocerebral Ascending Pathways

The first two have been well recognized for many years. The others have more recently been
described, or earlier suggested and only recently accepted by all. There may yet be others, whose
complexity makes them harder to define.
1. The spinothalamic pathway crosses the midline and ascends on the opposite side of the
spinal cord to the ventral posterolateral nucleus of the thalamus. This nucleus is subdivided
for specific areas of the body, and each area projects to its own section of the primary
sensory cortex -- a thin band of cortex in the parietal lobe just posterior to the central
sulcus.This discriminative pathway transmits to conciousness precise information about the
location of pain.

2. The spinoreticular pathway ascends on both sides of the spinal cord to the intralaminar
nuclei of both the right and left thalamus. From there the next neuron in the chain takes the
information to many areas of the brain, e.g., the anterior part of the cingulate gyrus
( emotion ), the amygdala ( memory and emotion ), and hypothalamus ( emotion and the
vascular response to emotion ). Unofficially I like to call it the "suffering" pathway.
3. The dorsal column pathway has long been suspected of transmitting visceral nociception to
the thalamus (as well as somatic touch and position sense). Now this is known to be so
(Hirshberg, et al, 1996 ).
4. The spinomesencephalic tract has been described travelling with the spinotectal tract to the
periacqueductal grey matter and superior colliculus of the midbrain. This may be the same as,
or related to, the pathway travelling to the parabrachial nucleus in the brainstem -- which in
turn projects to the amygdala, hypothalamus, and other limbic system stuctures in the
forebrain.
5. The spinohypothalamic pathway is a very recently described route which does not synapse
in the reticular formation. It carries information of emotional significance from the skin, lips,
sex organs, gastrointestinal tract, intracranial blood vessel tongue and cornea directly to the
hypothalamus.
Clearly there is one pathway that is concerned with a discriminative analysis of pain, but many others
that concern our reactions to it, and feelings about it. One, we could say, engages "the mind", while
the others involve the whole person.

Is there a "Cortical Pain Centre"?

Unfortunately there is no discrete centre where pain is recognised. Pain is so important to survival that
almost the whole brain is involved. Pain involves cognition, emotion, and behaviour. Therefore it is not
surprising that PET scan data obtained during painful stimulation indicates activity in the following
cortical areas. Brodmann's tissue classification follows in brackets.
1. sensory and motor cortex areas..................................(1-4)
2. premotor cortex ( for planning of movement ).................(6)
3. other parts of the parietal cortex..................................(7 and 37-40)
4. other parts of the frontal cortex....................................(8-10 and 43-47)
5. cingulate cortex.......................................................(24 and 32)
6. insula........................................................................(14)
7. occipital cortex...........................................................(19)
Pain also projects to the following subcortical structures:
thalamus, putamen, caudate nucleus, hypothalamus, amygdala, periaqueductal grey matter,
hippocampus, red nucleus, pulvinar, and vermis of the cerebellum (Wall,1996).
All of this supports Dennis Turk's claim that "the reign of pain is mainly in the brain". But there is no
one centre "in control". Rather we see that pain can be all-pervasive, affecting our thoughts and
memories, attitutudes and emotions, movements and behaviour -- and in turn be affected by each and
all of them.

More on Central Sensitization

On researching in order to publish a paper in the AJPMR, American Journal of Physical
Medicine and Rehabilitation (December, 2010) entitled A Proposed Neuroanatomical Basis
of Waddell's Nonorganic Sign, I came across the most succinct descripion of central
sensitization I have ever encountered. Martha Fitzgerald (see 2009 reference below) stated:
"Unlike other sensory stimuli, relatively brief trains of activity in peripheral nociceptors have
the ability to trigger long term changes in CNS circuitry and cause prolonged states of
hypersensitivity. This 'central sensitization' contributes to an amplification of the noxious
input and a spread of pain outside the original damaged region (secondary hyperalgesia) and
the onset of pain from normally innocuous stimuli (allodynia). The central sensitization arises
from increases in membrane excitability, strengthened excitatory synaptic outputs and
reduction of inhibitory interneuronal activity, which in turn are regulated by shifts in gene
expression, the production and trafficking of key receptors, channels, and downstream
neuronal signalling pathways."

Dr. Eldon Tunks, Director of the McMaster Chronic Pain Clinic, after reading my article offered this
information:

"There are treatments that may actually aggravate central sensitization pains--oxycodone
working on kappa receptors, prolonged high dose opiod metabolites...excessive triptans or
ergotamine for migraines, and untreated pain itself. It is also becoming clear there are some
kinds of treatment that may have more specific advantages in treating central sensitization:
gabapentin, pregabalin, tramadol, amitriptyline, buprenorphine, (and) ketamine, for
example."

Why learn about Anatomy Of Pain?

It gives us ability to understand why some people feel more pain and suffer more severely than others
do. I put this to good use in my assessment of those injured in motor vehicle accidents. Unfortunately,
many doctors working for insurance companies do not seem to understand some manifestations of
chronic pain. They say people with what they call non-anatomical pain are not legitimate candidates
for therapy when in fact these victims of accidents have widespread pain based on central nervous
system sensitization. I recently examined such a client in my clinic. She had diffuse tenderness on the
dorsum of her right forearm. In the same area she complained of severe burning pain. I applied an ice
pack here and this gave her extreme pain, but the same ice pack on her assympomatic right palm and
left forearm simply felt cold. This demonstration of cold allodynia, like tactile allodynia demonstrated
by pain on skin rolling, confirms the diagnosis of CNS sensitization which is a possible consequence
of long continued pain.

Non-anatomical pain is one of the features Gordon Waddell noted in his 1978 paper that
would make such a candidate unlikely to have a beneficial result from surgery for a herniated
lumbar disc. But his findings have been improperly used to suggest malingering. He himself
said so.
Because there seems to be a feeling that Waddell's Signs indicate a non-physical problem, I wrote the
paper published in AJPMR in 2010 refrred to above. But as the journal now holds the copyright of my
intellectual property, I cannot reproduce it here. But you can read a modified copy.

As I understand better how the mind thinks, I think I can understand the mind of my dog and so wrote
a book about him "I'm a Bear: Autobiography of a Golden Doodle as told to Don Ranney." You can
read about it
here.

References
Boivie J, Central pain syndromes. In Campell JN (ed) Pain 1996 - An Updated Review , IASP Press,
Seattle, p.23-29.
Dubner R, Basbaum A, Spinal dorsal horn plasticity following tissue or nerve injury. Chapter 11 in
Walls PD and Melzack R (eds) Textbook of Pain, 3rd ed., 1994, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh,
p.225-241.
Fitzgerald M, Woolf CJ, Axon transport and sensory C fibre function. In Chahl LA, Szolcsanyi J,
Lembeck F (eds) Antidromic Vasodilation and Neurogenic Inflammation, 1984, Akademiai Kiado,
Budapest, p.119-140.
Hirshberg RM, Al-Chaer ED, Lawand NB, Westlund KN, Willis WD, Is there a pathway in the posterior
funiculus that signals visceral pain? Pain 1996; 67: 291-305.
Hoheisel V, Koch K, Mense S, Functional reoorganization in rat dorsal horn during experimental
myositis. Pain 1994; 59: 111-118.
Jensen TS, Mechanisms of neuropathic pain. In Campbell JN (ed) Pain 1996 - An Updated Review,
IASP Press, Seattle, p.77-86.
Mense S, Hoheisel V, Kaske A, Reinert A, Muscle pain: Basic mechanisms and clinical correllates.
Chapter 32 in Jensen TS, Turner JA, Wiesenfeld-Hallin Z (eds) Proceedings of the 8th World
Congress in Pain Research and Management, 1997; 8: 479-496.
Merskey HM, Pain terms. Pain 1986; suppl. 3: S 215- S 221.
Merskey HM, Bogduk N, Classification of Chronic Pain , 2nd ed., 1994, IASP Press, Seattle, p.211.
Price DD, Psychological Mechanisms of Pain and Analgesia, 1999, IASP Press, Seattle.
Wall PD, The mechanisms by which tissue damage and pain are related. In Campbell JN (ed) Pain
1996 - An Updated Review, IASP Press, Seattle, p.123-126.
Fitzgerald M, The development of pain mechanisims, pain effects and pain expetiences in infants and
children. Chapter 38 in Mogil J (ed) Pain 2010 - An Updated Review, Refresher Course Syllabus,
IASP Press. Seattle, p.383-289.
Ranney D: A proposed neuroanatomical basis of Waddell's nonorganic signs. American Journal of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2010;89: 1036-1042.

A Recent Development in Treatment.

About the Author

Where he Still Works even though Retired

writing up recent research on work-related muscle pain.

Sitemap
Created by: ranney@hsfx.ca 1997/04/14
Revised by: ranney@hsfx.ca 2014/02/17

<div class="statcounter"><a title="visitors on myspace"

href="http://www.statcounter.com/myspace/" target="_blank"><img class="statcounter"
src="http://c.statcounter.com/5766962/0/23860cff/1/" alt="visitors on myspace" ></a></div>