GLOSSARY - PAIN THERAPY

Algology: branch of medicine dealing with the study of pain. Allodynia: condition of hypersensitivity to pain where a stimulus which would not under normal conditions provoke pain instead becomes painful. It is a synonym of primary hyperalgesia. Anaesthesia: absence of normal sensations, especially of sensitivity to pain, due to administration of an anaesthetic substance, or induced by hypnosis, or which occurs following trauma or nerve tissue damage. Analgesic: pain-killing drug. Narcotics act on the central nervous system and alter perception; they are always used only for serious pain and may produce tolerance and addiction. Non-narcotic analgesics almost always act on the site of pain, do not produce tolerance or addiction and do not alter perception; they are used in all forms of pain. Arthralgia: pain affecting a joint.

Brachialgia: pain in the arm.

Causalgia: intense pain sensation located in fingers or toes and accompanied by skin reddening. Cervicodynia: neck pain. Colic: acute, intense, often spasmodic pain, mostly located in the abdomen.

Dysmenorrhoea: painful menstruation.

Headache: headache of any type. Also called cephalalgia.

Lumbago: low back pain.

Migraine: particular form of headache characterised by strong pain of unilateral onset, and sight disturbances during the acute phase which may last for hours or days.

Neuralgia: pathological state characterised by acute pain caused by multiple alterations in the nervous system. Nociceptor: nerve-end able to react to a painful stimulus. NSAID: Abbreviation of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agent. A family of compounds widely used for pain control, whose main action is inhibition of the synthesis of prostaglandins, a class of substances involved in pain genesis and transmission.

Ophthalmodynia: eye pain. Otalgia: earache, also called otodynia.

Sciatica: pain along the sciatic nerve in the thigh and leg.