[libribook.com] Traumatic Scar Tissue Management 1st Edition

Nociceptors
A nociceptor is a receptor specialized in detecting stimuli that objectively
can damage tissue and subjectively are perceived as painful.
Dommerholt (RMTBC Pain Conference 2014)
Nociceptors, which are threat detectors, are responsive to various noxious
stimuli (e.g. extreme hot, cold, swelling, tissue damage or prior tissue damage)
(Winkelstein 2004, Jacobs 2014). Although there is a common tendency to
identify nociceptors as pain receptors, not all nociceptive signals are interpreted
as pain and not every pain sensation originates from a nociceptor. However,
acute pain almost always originates from nociceptors in somatic or visceral
tissue. Pain mechanisms and various types of pain will be discussed in greater
detail later in this chapter.
As is the case with mechanoreceptors, nociceptor condensations vary from
region to region; for example, the thoracolumbar fascia (aka lumbodorsal fascia)
is densely innervated with nociceptors, and nociceptors in this region have a
more extensive distribution in the spinal cord than is seen in other tissues (e.g.
more so than what is seen in the gastroc/soleus). The higher nociceptor
condensation and more extensive spinal cord distribution may explain why we
see a higher prevalence of chronic low back pain (ChLBP) in comparison to
chronic lower limb pain (Tesarz 2009, Tesarz et al. 2011).