The Nature of Pain

The nature of pain varies with the causes and patho-mechanism.

1.Stabbing Pain- Prick pain, sharp in nature, sudden, severe, and fixed in location. it is a sign of blood stasis. This kind of pain is worse with press and massage, aggravated at night. 

2.Radiating Pain (Wandering Pain)- Pain acts like wind with rapid onset of pain that moves around in the body. The soreness and pain can be in the joints or muscles and movement will be limited. Western Medicine would look at this type of pain as fibromyalgia or sciatica.

3.Cold Pain- Pain with a Cold Sensation. Severe pain in a joint or muscle with limitation of movement, usually unilateral. It is caused by pathogenic cold or lack of Yang energy. It alleviated by warmth. Bursitis and early stage arthritis would fit the Western Medicine model.

4.Distending Pain- Pain with a distending sensation. It is Qi stagnation. It can be in the head, eyes, chest, and abdomen.

5.Burning pain- Pain with a burning sensation. Pain acts like fire with rapid onset of redness, swelling and severe pain. Pressure will increase the pain and the patient may be irritable. Joint infections fit into this category. Joint infections can occur from tiny punctures that do not show up as a wound.

6.Crushing Pain- It caused by damp obstruction. Pain, soreness and swelling in muscles and joint with a feeling of heaviness of the limbs, the pain is fixed in one place, stiffness more than pain, and worse with cold or damp weather. Western Medicine would call this type pain rheumatism. Stocking up in the legs would also be a characteristic of crushing pain.

7.Dull Pain- It is a tolerable but lingering pain. This caused by malnutrition of organs and channels due to deficiency of blood or essence.

8.Aching- The pain is accompanied by aches and weariness. This reflects the exterior wind or dampness syndrome, deficiency of kidney, insufficient Qi and blood, and failure of tissues to be nourished.

9.Osteoarthritis Pain- The pain is the result of long-term invasion of Wind, Cold and Damp. You will see muscle atrophy, joint deformity, and joint degeneration. At this stage, the condition is exceedingly difficult to treat.

10.Colicky Pain- It is a terrible intolerable pain, caused by blood stasis, stagnation of Qi, Calculi or parasites, or obstruction of Qi due to pathogenic cold. In adults, colicky pain is usually a sharp, localized gastrointestinal or urinary pain that can arise abruptly, and tends to come and go in spasm like waves. This can happen repeatedly over weeks, months, or years. It often occurs in hollow organs of the abdomen (such as the small and large intestines, rectum, and gallbladder) and in the urinary tract (such as in the kidneys or ureter).The pain is thought to be the result of muscle contracting around a complete or partial blockage in one of these organs or tubes.