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Decreased sensitivity to self-inflicted pain.
Laura Braid1, Peter M B Cahusac
1Department of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK.
Pain
|May 17, 2006
Summary
Self-inflicted pain is experienced as less intense and more tolerable than pain inflicted by others. This suggests that allowing patients to self-administer certain medical procedures could reduce perceived pain and improve tolerance.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Pain Perception
- Human Factors
Background:
- Anecdotal evidence suggests self-inflicted injuries are perceived as less painful.
- Previous research has not systematically investigated the effect of stimulus application source on pain perception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that pain sensitivity and tolerance differ based on who applies a painful stimulus.
- To quantify the difference in pain perception between self-application and other-application of a painful stimulus.
Main Methods:
- Healthy undergraduate students applied a pressure algometer to themselves and to other participants.
- Pain thresholds and tolerance levels were recorded for both self- and other-application conditions.
- Statistical analysis was used to compare pain measures between conditions.
Main Results:
- Pain thresholds and tolerance were significantly higher when the algometer was self-applied compared to when applied by another person.
- The mean difference for pain thresholds was 0.27MPa (P=0.002) and for pain tolerance was 0.25MPa (P=0.028).
- An unexpected finding was lower pain tolerance when females applied the algometer (P<0.01).
Conclusions:
- Self-inflicted painful stimuli result in significantly less perceived pain and greater pain tolerance.
- Findings suggest that adapting procedures for self-application by patients may reduce discomfort.
- Potential applications include mammography, wound dressing removal, and blood withdrawal.