Types of Pain

Pain can be grouped in two ways, fast pain and slow pain. Fast pain is felt within about 0.1 of a second after a pain stimulus is applied, where as slow pain only begins after about 1 second or more and then increases slowly over many seconds and sometimes even minutes. Now we know the types of pain we can apply the correct stimulus.
Fast pain is a sharp pain as though you have been pricked by a needle, very much a surface pain.Slow pain is an aching pain or nauseous pain and so is a deeper pain which permeates the tissue or organ.

When we use this information in our martial arts we would apply different striking methods e.g. The heavy hand method this will penetrate the organ and tissue in a deep manner and the aching, throbbing pain.

Pain Receptors

The pain receptors are located in the skin and other tissue are all free nerve endings. If we strike the arm on the radial nerve the pain receptors will react to this stimulus, if the struck again on the same point the pain receptors adapt very little and sometimes not at all. Repeated striking of the same point increases the sensitivity of the pain receptors and is called HYPERALGESIA. Now one can understand the importance of this failure of pain receptors to adapt as it allows the person to fully monitor the persisting pain and then able to take the appropriate action e.g. get away, remove the stimulus.

After Striking

When striking the nerves repeatedly the pain receptors will increase in sensitivity, when training with our partners we should understand this and reset the pain receptors. By the stimulation of the large type AB sensory fibres from the peripheral tactile receptors this can depress the transmission of pain signals. This effect by rubbing the skin over the effected area with your hands often results in relieving pain in that area. So by striking the arm nerves, if we rub the area struck we should be able to reset the pain receptor to this area. It should be noted the area is still in a receptive state, again this is the bodies way of monitoring and protecting from any future stimulus that it may encounter.

Hyperalgesia

This is a condition where a pain pathway sometimes becomes excessively over stimulated, This gives rise to hyperalgesia, which means hypersensitivity to pain. In martial arts terms it is very easy to get a dramatic effect by striking someone who has this condition.