Headaches | Pain memory

Headaches

Headaches are also a common localization for chronic pain, which is virtually permanent in the context of pain memory development. Migraine patients in particular sometimes experience this.

Toothache

Chronic pain does not only occur in typical places like the back, but also the teeth can be affected. Some patients experience psychosomatic toothache. In this case, the cause is not the tooth or gums themselves, but the psyche of the patient leads to these pains.

Of course it is a challenge for the dentist to recognize this fact first. One also speaks of psychosomatic pain when a pain memory has developed as a result of previous dental treatment, even though the underlying cause of the pain no longer exists. If a person is exposed to severe stress or psychological strain, the immune system also suffers. It takes more time to recover from a disease, which may lead to the development of a pain memory.

Painkillers

Once a pain memory has developed so that the patient suffers from chronic pain, it is very difficult to treat this pain with painkillers. In up to 50% of these patients no adequate pain treatment can be given. Not only painkillers are used in therapy, but also therapies such as physiotherapy, psychotherapy and physical therapy (e.g. cold or heat therapy).

The drugs used are standard painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, but also highly effective opioids such as codeine and morphine. In addition to painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs are usually used at the same time, since substances are formed during inflammation which mediate or intensify the pain. If the oral intake of painkillers does not help to relieve the pain, painkillers can also be introduced directly into the spinal cord via an infusion (= intrathecal drug infusion).

Alternatively, neurostimulation can also be carried out, in which current pulses are used to inhibit the signal transmission of overactive nerves. The last resort is surgery to block the nerves so that they can no longer transmit pain stimuli to the brain. However, this method can only be used if the cause of the pain can be localized.