The Secret World of Pain ~ Horizon 31/1/2011

Did anyone catch this programme? It was shown on 31/1/11 I think ~ I recorded it & watched it this weekend.

The programme was about how the brain & neural system process pain, how we feel pain & the differing experiences of pain depending on the circumstances. It discussed how we “learn” about pain from early life experiences, i.e. sometimes the neural pathways that deal with pain are sensitised early in life, e.g. in premature babies that have to undergo painful procedures when they are perhaps days/weeks old & that this “oversensitisation” of the pathways can make them more sensitive as the child grows up. Then painful experiences later in life can trigger these oversensitive pathways & lead to that person experiencing pain more acutely, or being more likely to suffer ongoing chronic pain from injuries that most of us cease to feel pain from when the injury has healed.

It also discussed the context in which we feel pain & how the body can release natural pain-relieving endorphins in times of life-threatening crises ~ the example was a man with his arm trapped in a heating vent who had to saw his arm off, but felt virtually no pain at the time.

The programme also told of research on how pain is generated in the mind. Experiments were carried out where people are administered with a small amount of pain while viewing images of shapes. The findings demonstrated that once the brain makes an association between pain and a particular shape, the next time the person views that shape, their expectation and anxiety of pain increases and they therefore experience heightened discomfort.

In other cases, psychological treatments are used to counteract pain, including a burns patient who plays a computer game called ‘snow world’ while his bandages are being changed, which reduces his discomfort significantly by distracting the brain so that it does not have enough capacity to process pain.

It got me thinking about how this can apply to animals, dogs in particular. Could early neutering or tail docking cause an oversensitisation of the pain pathways in the brain? What if that same dog was then to experience harsh punishment in training?

What about the associations made in the brain between the pain & whatever else was happening at the time ~ then the anxiety caused by those same triggers heightens the feeling of pain?

Would trying distractions help alleviate, e.g. the pain of vaccinations, having dressings changed etc, significantly help dogs?

Do animals literally fighting for their lives in the midst of attack feel no pain because of the adrenalin release & the “distraction” of fighting for survival which means there is insufficient processing power in the brain for the pain pathways to be activated?

I think most of us probably try some form of distraction when our dogs are having vaccinations. But it did make me realise that inflicting pain during training could cause yet more fallout than we ever believed possible!

I'm certain negative training methods cause associations which can exacerbate undesirable behaviours, Ive seen it. Most dogs don't happily trot into the vets with their tails wagging even with the best distraction methods available but it may well minimise the impact. Wouldn't we love to get into the mind of a dog and see the answers!

I do not use any distractions when I have my dogs vaccinated.

As for adrenaline affecting pain etc, well we know for example that dogs who are asked to do something they do not want to do eg heelwork through nettles, will avoid it, however, stick a rabbit on the other side of the nettles, no problem.

I remember this programme as I was interested in watching it because I have a damaged neck disc and fibromyalgia due to a car accident so am unfortunately often in pain.

When I used to take Cherry and Parker to the vets for their vaccinations I used to distract them with a treat. Parker was still a wuss and would squeak but Cherry was very stoic and didn't seem to bother at all. The vet said that it was usually the male dogs that made the most fuss! (sexist or what?).

Sort sounds right doesn't it?! Except with mine it's the bitch who has a vast array of fuss making noises not the dog!