Unit 5 Gate Control Theory of Pain PDF

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Unit 5 Gate Control Theory of Pain...

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Running head: GATE CONTROL THEORY OF PAIN

Gate Control Theory of Pain PSYC 1111: Introduction to Health Psychology

Introduction

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GATE CONTROL THEORY OF PAIN Pain is the uncomfortable or unpleasant feeling that tells you something is wrong. It is felt when a signal travels through the nerves to the brain and could be a steady, throbbing or aching sensation. In this paper we will explore the psychological influences on pain, the Gate Control Theory and the positive impact of blogging. Psychological Influences on Pain Each person experience pain differently, therefore it is best described as a perception, which changes based on a psychological factors, rather than a sensation (Ogden, 2017). Stress: This is caused by external factors and results in physiological, behavioral, and psychological changes (Ogden, 2017). Harmful stress is referred to as distress, while positive stress is known as eustress. It can be directly and indirectly linked to illnesses and influenced by psychological factors, known as moderators: coping, social support, personality and control. Coping: People cope with stress in different ways, some confront the problem and act, known as approach coping, while other use avoidant coping strategies by ignoring the event. The choice of coping style will determine the impact stress will have on illnesses, there is no indication which approach is better, as it depends on the person and the circumstance. Social support: People affected by stress, who benefit from social support, are better able to cope with the situation. The care and comfort they are provided with forms a buffer between the person and the stressor. Personality: People with Type A personality tend to be more expressive in the actions and speech, which is linked to heart disease, which causes heart attacks. Control: Different theories have been geared toward control. Attribution and control states that if control was applied to a stressor, it could be determined if the individual could have controlled the cause. Self-Efficacy and control states that control is implicit as it examines the

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individual’s confidence in carrying out a particular behavior. Reality of control is broken down into perceived control and actual control, with illusory control being the discrepancy between the two (Ogden, 2017). The Gate Control Theory The Gate Control Theory of Pain (GCT) by Ron Melzack and Patrick Wall in 1965, posits that pain is a perception and not a sensation. The theory is based on studies conducted to combine the pattern theory and the specificity theory, while incorporating psychology and perception of pain. GCT hypothesizes that any nerve signal on the way to the brain, can either go by the transmission cells that will pick up the pain and take it to the brain or by the inhibitory interneurons that would make the activity less intense (Kelly, P. 2018). When someone is injured, the signal is sent to the spinal chord and then to the brain. The theory posits that nerve gates control the way the signals pass through the gates, intense pains pass through more readily, while at times pain is minimized and may be prevented from reaching the brain. If your hand got hurt and your rub the area, the nerves attached to those mechanoreceptors, are actually increasing the inhibitory interneurons on the pain signals, which influenced the name Gate Control Theory (Kelly, P. 2018). The author states that your hand is still giving off signal for pain, but by stimulating the touch receptors, you closed the gate, preventing the pain signal from reaching the brain, while also closing the gate from the other direction. Based on the theory, the messages coming from the brain can also shut the gate from signals, therefore, in cases of emergency, you may not notice pain until you are in a safe zone.

Factors That Open and Close the Gate

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The Pain Gate Theory states that there are factors that open and close the gate are physical, emotional and behavioral (Ogden, 2017). If a hammer hit your finger, the physical factor would be the hammer that hit your finger. Your immediate reaction would be the emotional factor, you may be upset due to the pain you would be feeling. You start focusing on the pain, this would be the behavioral factor. These factors combined would open the gate to pain. Therefore, the gate, interprets the information to produce an output, which is sent to the active system and results in pain of perception. Let’s now look on the factors that closes the gateway to pain. Physical factors including taking a tablet may stop the pain. Changing your mood, by laughing about the situation puts you in a different emotional state and causes you to relax. Your behaviour and change of mindset will relieve the pain, especially if you move on to other activities. The Positive Effects of Blogging About Chronic Pain and Illness Russler et al. (2012) through their research “Communicating the Experience of Chronic Pain and Illness Through Blogging” examined the positive effects of blogging on the psychosocial and health of people with chronic pain and illness. The writers posit that patients used blogging to tell their stories and through connections made, they were able to gain insights of their illness, which gave them a sense of purpose and helped them to cope. Due to medical advanced, people are now living longer with diseases, and along with their families, they have to deal with the symptoms such as chronic pain (Russler, 2012). Social support helps patients and their families deal with crisis, resulting in health practitioners engaged with trying to understand the psychosocial and emotional consequences of pain. The authors said that people who suffer from chronic pains and illnesses may become isolated and have

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difficulty with functioning and creating connections between the world of the sick and that of the well. The way they cope would depends on their own self-efficacy and control. People express themselves to acknowledge and validate their experience, while giving a visual image of the nature of the pain. This kind of exchange not only allow for sharing experiences, but also help them to acknowledge the emotional and suffering components. Writing about their illness proved therapeutic for the patient and internet created a community, where the emotional experience of the pain could be shared in real-time to an audience that responded immediately. Blogging also help others with similar problems to get information and share their experiences, which could result in positive psychosocial benefits to patient with chronic pains and illnesses Conclusion Reading this week material has given me a better insight on how we perceive pain and as I reflect, it is clear that one’s personality, not only determines the extent of their illness, but also how they will react to stressors. Some people may be better able to cope with stress, pain and illnesses, but social support, makes it easier for everyone. Despite, the disadvantages, blogging is an important tool as it gives those is isolation a communication link with the rest of the world and the ability to help other who may be experiencing similar issues.

References

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Kelly, P. (2018). What is the gate control theory of pain - how pain perception works [Video file]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-fUfIFduxI Ogden, J. (2017). The psychology of health and illness: An open-access course. https://my.uopeople.edu/pluginfile.php/57436/mod_book/chapter/160034/PSYC1111.Ogde n.Psychology.of.Health.and.Illness.pdf. Ressler, P. K., Bradshaw, Y. S., Gualtieri, L., & Chui, K. K. H. (2012). Communicating the experience of chronic pain and illness through blogging. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 14(5), e143. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3510726/

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