Diseases that cause swelling, pressure, or an injury can result in this type of pain, known as nociceptive pain. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-related stomach pain or bladder infections-related pelvic pain are two examples of visceral discomfort.
The mechanics, signs, and warning signs of visceral discomfort will all be covered in this article.
What is Visceral Pain ?
The degree of visceral pain can change. Generally speaking, it is difficult to pinpoint and all-over (though that is not a hard-and-fast rule).
The pain may be deep or only slightly below the surface (superficial), regular or intermittent, acute or dull, etc. Visceral discomfort frequently produces an aching feeling.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation American Academy. Visceral Pain in the Pelvis and Abdomen: Differential Diagnosis and Treatment.
Sometimes the discomfort can feel like your body is being squeezed from the inside (similar to how menstruation cramps feel).
How Visceral Pain Occurs ?
If you have an infection, trauma, disease, growth, bleeding, or anything else that puts pressure, inflammation, or harm on the inside or outside of your internal organs, you could have visceral pain.
Nociceptors are pain receptors found on the sensory nerves of your organs. To notify you of illness or injury, they transmit messages to your brain and spinal cord.
When the nerves in and around the organs notice compression, stretching, tearing, or small regions of damage (for instance, from infectious organisms like viruses), the sensory nerves are activated.
Risk Factors :
Pain is more likely to affect certain persons than others. For instance, men are less likely to experience pain from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which may be linked to gender-specific hormonal changes.
Visceral pain symptoms may also be more prevalent in those who have certain mental health issues, including bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Dinan TG, O'mahony SM, Moloney RD, Cryan JF, and Felice VD. Visceral discomfort and mental health issues.
The evidence, however, has been contradictory, and it has also been proposed that chronic pain may cause mental health issues rather than the reverse.
Radiation and Referred Pain :
The number of nociceptors in the internal organs is less than that of the skin. Visceral pain is not well represented in the mapping of pain in your brain. These elements make it challenging to pinpoint the source of the pain.
Visceral pain, in contrast to superficial pain, has a propensity to spread from the initial site to other parts of the body, making the entire pain experience extensive (diffuse) and unpleasant.
For instance, discomfort from the heart can radiate to the left arm and neck, pain from the bladder can be felt in the perineum, which is the area between the anus and the genitalia, and a kidney infection can result in back pain.
National Kidney Foundation. Causes of kidney pain, why they hurt, and when to seek medical attention.
It can be challenging to determine where the source of visceral referred pain is because it occasionally radiates from the wounded portion of the body to neighbouring sections of the body.
For instance, someone with a stomach ulcer might have chest pain rather than stomach discomfort, and someone with a colon infection would experience back pain rather than pain in the area of their lower intestines.
Somatic vs. Visceral Pain :
You would experience sudden, intense, and superficial somatic pain if you cut your finger with a knife.
You can identify precisely which portion of your finger is sliced since your finger contains many nociceptors and your brain has a more thorough mapping of sensation to somatic pain.
Treatment :
To ensure that your pain is properly treated and you can prevent any potential repercussions of an untreated condition, it is crucial to identify the source of your pain.
Painkillers can help with visceral pain, but there are drawbacks to taking them. Visceral pain might occasionally be too severe for drugs to handle.
Visceral discomfort may be treated in various ways, including
OTC medication: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), including aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) and Aleve (naproxen), can help with the discomfort.
However, as some of these drugs thin the blood, they can also exacerbate several conditions that cause visceral pain. The use of Tylenol (acetaminophen) to alleviate visceral pain is typically safe.
However, you must follow the instructions carefully because taking too much acetaminophen can harm your liver.
prescription painkillers Opioids like morphine and codeine may be used for severe pain. Opioids can have negative side effects, such as drowsiness and constipation, and they can also promote tolerance and/or addiction.
These potent drugs can briefly help you manage post-surgical pain or reduce your discomfort until the source is found and properly treated.
Pain injections: Injecting painkillers close to the painful location or the nerve that sends pain to that area may be considered if visceral pain does not improve with other therapies.
This is typically only a choice if the source of the pain is identified and any other health issues are taken care of beforehand.
Intervention, either medical or surgical: Some causes of visceral discomfort in the abdomen, like a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm or appendicitis, are life-threatening and demand emergency surgery.
Additional causes of abdominal pain include infection and cancer, both of which necessitate prompt diagnosis and specialised care.
Summary :
Visceral pain originates in your body's organs and is brought on by illnesses. Other sensations like perspiration and nausea, which are less typical with other types of pain, can accompany it.
By doing tests and scans, as well as by physically examining the painful area of your body, a doctor can identify visceral pain. Depending on the underlying reason, visceral discomfort may be treated with medication or surgery to address the issue.
Visceral pain, the pain we feel when our internal organs are inflamed, diseased, damaged or injured, is by far the most common type of pain. All of us will have experienced pain emanating from our internal organs, from the mild discomfort of indigestion to the agony of renal colic.
Read more about other pain - Somatic Pain , Muscle pain
