Embryological Pain Patterns Pain patterns associated with deep injury may be related to the embryological development of the musculoskeletal system. When one structure is injured, other structures which originated in the fetus from the same mass of tissue are affected. The results may include an embryological pattern of increased muscle tone, hyperactive reflexes and increased skin sensitivity. The Greeks viewed pain as an experience resulting from some failure in the right process of living. Steven Brena, MD There are three kinds of pain.
Acute pain is secondary to specific tissue damage such as with a sprained ankle or stomach ulcer.
Chronic pain is caused by persistent disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, or it is a condition which lasts beyond the expected recovery time. The type of pain which causes the most puzzlement and frustration to both patient and practitioner is chronic pain, where the pain persists after the physical cause has been treated and considered corrected. The pain is constant, waxing and waning but seldom disappearing, and doesn't respond to treatment. Back pain is the most common kind of chronic pain. We have no business calling a patient a malingerer just because we cannot find a physical basis for his pain or because he's had it for a very long period.