Pain does not happen just because the brain receives “danger” signals. Danger signals are one of many signals from the body to the brain. Before the pain alarm turns on, the brain must put together a reasonable story from all the information it receives.
Imagine…
The human body as a large company and the brain as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in charge. As CEO, your brain receives regular reports from each department (your body parts). If a department reports a problem, the CEO asks for more information from other departments. The CEO looks at all the information and decides what the company should do. If the problem seems dangerous, the CEO sends an urgent message to fix the problem. Like a CEO, your brain uses a variety of information to judge how big a problem is and decide how it should act.
What is happening in the body?
Alarm signals do not travel from sensors to the brain in a straight line. These signals must first pass through a “nerve gate” in an area called the dorsal horn in the spinal cord. You are more likely to feel pain when the gate opens because alarm signals are free to travel to the brain. You are less likely to feel pain when the gate closes because alarm signals cannot travel to the brain. The brain opens and closes the nerve gate by sending signals down the spinal cord.
Stress, fear and worried thoughts are some signals that keep the gate open and increase your pain. Signs of safety in the body like calm thoughts, deep breathing or gentle movement can lower your pain by closing the gate.
Now suppose you step on glass, but this time, you are on a stage to receive a very important award. The piece of glass may cause little or no pain. This is not because danger signals are not travelling from your foot to your brain. It is because feeling very excited can stimulate nerve fibers and feel good chemicals that close the nerve gate. Closing the nerve gate slows down danger signals to the brain. Fewer alarm signals means the brain is less aware of dangers and less likely to protect you with pain. After your feeling of excitement comes down, you may start noticing a pain in your foot.
