Neuroplasticity allows the nervous system to change in response to experience, including the somatosensory system involved in understanding touch and physical feeling on the body.
Pain has both physical and mental components, including a perceptual component, which is the belief system about what one is experiencing in their body.
The physiological term nociception describes the mechanism of pain without the emotional component, and understanding pain offers systems to differentiate between pain and injury.
Pain can occur without tissue damage, and the perception of pain is subject to various influences, including the interpretation of an event and the release of adrenaline and dopamine.
The Homunculus is a representation of the body surface scaled to match the density of receptors, not the physical area, and areas with more receptors are more sensitive to pain than others.
Phantom limb pain is the sensation of an amputated limb in the position it was at the time of trauma and can be treated using visualization exercises like mirror box therapy.
Restricting the use of an uninjured limb can help overcome motor injury, encouraging activity in the injured limb without causing further injury.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause a general degradation of brain function, and symptoms include headache, mood changes, and sleep disruption.
The glymphatic system clears out debris surrounding injured neurons, with most activity happening during slow-wave sleep, and can be activated through sleep position and exercise.
Acupuncture can modulate pain and inflammation by stimulating the somatosensory and autonomic nervous systems, and directing plasticity towards specific outcomes requires balancing the release of adrenaline and inflammation. Sleep, mobility, ice, and heat are also important for injury and tissue rehabilitation.
