Why do people move when in pain?
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Pain I think is form of energy
And one hopes that this movement , at some point , makes the pain , at the very least less
I know I've been there , any position found to make the pain even a little less is a good position
Sometimes there is so much adrenaline in our system when we are in 'fight or flight mode', that we are desensitized to the pain signals until the immediate danger is somewhat abated. In other cases, the real and present danger is precisely what motivates us to move in spite of pain, for we realize that we are in greater peril if we do not endure the pain (even at the risk of greater injury) to remove ourselves from a more dangerous circumstance.
Pain itself can be so disconcerting that we move in an effort to seek relief, almost as if we could flee from the pain itself, illogical as that may seem. Pain erodes our logic and drives us to visceral responses.
Pain itself can be so disconcerting that we move in an effort to seek relief, almost as if we could flee from the pain itself, illogical as that may seem. Pain erodes our logic and drives us to visceral responses.
Pain, as well as the general phenomenon of intense suffering, is one of the most mysterious phenomenon to science.
Science can't explain what pain is (or what causes it) or why some people (like me for example) experience pain much more intensely than others.
Some people experience very strong and unimaginable pain even after a very small injury while other people don't experience almost any pain at all even after a large injury or trauma.
Science can't explain what pain is (or what causes it) or why some people (like me for example) experience pain much more intensely than others.
Some people experience very strong and unimaginable pain even after a very small injury while other people don't experience almost any pain at all even after a large injury or trauma.
As an example I recently had a problem with my knee. It was very painful and almost unbearable to walk but I needed to do things so I had to endure the pain until I got relief from my doctor. I was given anti inflammatory meds and that reduced the pain but didn't eliminate it. So the reason I had to endure the pain was because I had no other choices.
If you were an animal in the wild, you have to work through the pain or else you will attract the attention of predators. The sick and injured are open season when it comes to predators. I would assume, there is an instinct, connected to survival, to work through the pain thereby disguising your vulnerability to predators.
Working through the pain, may hurt in the short term, but it is a way to saturate the nerves so the pain signal will become more muted and the pain will get less.
With sight, we will notice an object moving against a static background, easier that if the same object is also stationary. Pain works the same way, with transient pain, where you baby it and then have to activate it with some motion, gets more attention, than leaving the pain on or off. The receptors will saturate out if the pain is left on, until it blends into the background. The first day of any pain is the worse and after that it gets easier to deal with unless you fixate on it too much.
Working through the pain, may hurt in the short term, but it is a way to saturate the nerves so the pain signal will become more muted and the pain will get less.
With sight, we will notice an object moving against a static background, easier that if the same object is also stationary. Pain works the same way, with transient pain, where you baby it and then have to activate it with some motion, gets more attention, than leaving the pain on or off. The receptors will saturate out if the pain is left on, until it blends into the background. The first day of any pain is the worse and after that it gets easier to deal with unless you fixate on it too much.
I don't think I've seen the correct answer to this question yet, I'll try to throw some information in. 
In order to understand our physical reactions to pain, we must first understand pain.
Pain is a sensation that is caused by the stimulation of sensory nerves called "Noiciceptors". The question is, why do sensations like a pinch hurt, and others do not? Our bodies gauge the intensity of physical pain in weird ways, such as: texture, sharpness, pressure etc. Our bodies recognize that a pinch is potentially dangerous (it can rupture the skin and cause bleeding/infection) and our reaction is to immediately pull away. We feel an extremely intense sensation when our sensory nerves detect a dangerous situation, and this, is pain. Our immediate reflexive reaction is to alleviate the situation. For example: when you pull your hand back after burning a finger, or you jump when you are pinched. You writhe when in pain in an attempt to alleviate the potentially dangerous situation that your noiciceptors detect.
I hope that this helped to answer your question
In order to understand our physical reactions to pain, we must first understand pain.
Pain is a sensation that is caused by the stimulation of sensory nerves called "Noiciceptors". The question is, why do sensations like a pinch hurt, and others do not? Our bodies gauge the intensity of physical pain in weird ways, such as: texture, sharpness, pressure etc. Our bodies recognize that a pinch is potentially dangerous (it can rupture the skin and cause bleeding/infection) and our reaction is to immediately pull away. We feel an extremely intense sensation when our sensory nerves detect a dangerous situation, and this, is pain. Our immediate reflexive reaction is to alleviate the situation. For example: when you pull your hand back after burning a finger, or you jump when you are pinched. You writhe when in pain in an attempt to alleviate the potentially dangerous situation that your noiciceptors detect.
I hope that this helped to answer your question
Welcom to sciforums Jake
Your main paragraph is correct but it would be helpful to note that pain is a creation of the brain, not the body and can be blocked by the brain too at times. For example there are case where a soldier is badly injured but not in much pain. Perhaps a battle field medic gave him a shot of morphine, but when the nurse at the medical center gives him some injected medicine (an anticipated and usually at least a mildly painful event) he feels that pain and may complain about it.
Sciatica, perceived as pain in the leg, is strong evidence that "pain is in the brain" as there is nothing wrong in the leg.
You last sentence of the main paragraph is not quite correct, IMO. I base this to a large extent on how my pet bird (a cockatiel caged up only at night or when no one is home) behaves. It is clearly her instinct that tells her to immediately fly when she hears a sudden noise.
I.e. She immediately flies and then when air borne decides where to go.* I.e. I don't think we "writhe in pain in an attempt to alleviate the potentially dangerous situation" but like my bird, respond with: "Do something, anything, but do something now!" I.e. it is not intentional or rational in any way - in fact as you observed, may make the problem worse.
* usually to a top shelf of a book case - more instinct at work, I think, as that is safe from attack by four legged animals.
Your main paragraph is correct but it would be helpful to note that pain is a creation of the brain, not the body and can be blocked by the brain too at times. For example there are case where a soldier is badly injured but not in much pain. Perhaps a battle field medic gave him a shot of morphine, but when the nurse at the medical center gives him some injected medicine (an anticipated and usually at least a mildly painful event) he feels that pain and may complain about it.
Sciatica, perceived as pain in the leg, is strong evidence that "pain is in the brain" as there is nothing wrong in the leg.
You last sentence of the main paragraph is not quite correct, IMO. I base this to a large extent on how my pet bird (a cockatiel caged up only at night or when no one is home) behaves. It is clearly her instinct that tells her to immediately fly when she hears a sudden noise.
I.e. She immediately flies and then when air borne decides where to go.* I.e. I don't think we "writhe in pain in an attempt to alleviate the potentially dangerous situation" but like my bird, respond with: "Do something, anything, but do something now!" I.e. it is not intentional or rational in any way - in fact as you observed, may make the problem worse.
* usually to a top shelf of a book case - more instinct at work, I think, as that is safe from attack by four legged animals.
That is mainly a reflex known as "guarding." If you have internal injuries your abdominal muscles will often tense up to prevent further injury. It is also present (more of a behavior and less of a reflex) in other injuries; when a body part is injured most people will try to protect it by "curling up" around it and thus preventing further injury.
Thanks for the reply - I had thought that it was common sense that sensory info is processed in the brain. "Writhing" May have not been the best word to use, but I'll give you an example of what I mean.
My brother and I went hiking a few years ago, and my brother slipped down a 7 foot drop in the trail. He tried to catch himself with his arms and immediately collapsed, holding his left humerus. As I struggled to reach him, I saw him rolling on the ground yelling all the swear words in the book. This "rolling" motion is what I meant when I said "writhing", it is a natural survival response to do anything to alleviate the pain - and if it hurts bad enough, you will be frantically rolling around trying to help the situation. This response is, as the other poster said, a "guarding" reflex. Pain is the sense that keeps us from doing things that would otherwise kill us.
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Pain is one of the most misunderstood phenomena in science, along with consciousness.
We just do not understand why the pain that we feel after an injury has to be so very very painful. Also we do not know why different individuals experience pain so differently, with some individuals experiencing no pain at all after an injury.
Perhaps physics theories like thermodynamics, electromagnetism (both classical and quantum), atomic and molecular physics, quantum mechanics and quantum field theory could shed some light on the true nature of pain and also on the nature of consciousness.
But much further research into the phenomena of pain is definitely required. There is still much we do not know about pain and I believe that a lot of work is still left to be done in this area.
We just do not understand why the pain that we feel after an injury has to be so very very painful. Also we do not know why different individuals experience pain so differently, with some individuals experiencing no pain at all after an injury.
Perhaps physics theories like thermodynamics, electromagnetism (both classical and quantum), atomic and molecular physics, quantum mechanics and quantum field theory could shed some light on the true nature of pain and also on the nature of consciousness.
But much further research into the phenomena of pain is definitely required. There is still much we do not know about pain and I believe that a lot of work is still left to be done in this area.
Pain to me just seems to be a part of the evolutionary path. I mean if there was no such thing as pain, injuries and conditions could go unnoticed and untreated and the inevitable consequences would be death.
When a person have a brain injury does she or he senses pain ?
Depends on the severity of the injury. In someone with a profound brain injury, there's no more "he" to sense pain with. In many cases though the body will still react to pain through reflex.
That's assuming of course that pain is caused only by the brain which in my opinion is a wrong assumption.
In my opinion the perception of pain is not only caused by the brain.
Consciousness is not only caused by our brain either because the evidence shows that there is more to it than that.
Your brain does not "cause" pain; it has no pain receptors. It merely houses the equipment you need to perceive pain.
Can you point to an example of someone with no brain who is conscious?
But that is shown to be false. If you separate my head from my body I guarantee you that I will still be able to feel pain.
No not directly but I just know that it is possible.
Really? Your body will perceive it, and you will indicate that you feel it via sign language or something? There have been a great many decapitations throughout history, and this has never been observed.
How? What other structure will support the function we know as "consciousness?"