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DubstepDonut t1_j4vi34b wrote

Does our body register different sources of pain in different ways? Like for example, why is it my painkiller reduces my stomach ache but doesn't affect the pain of being pinched?

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PrecursorNL t1_j4vp073 wrote

Does our body register pains in different ways? Well yes and no. We long thought no, but in a way we do. Hot and cold are same signals but faster and slower, and pinching is again another rhythm. We have mostly one type of pain receptor but recently it seems like we have some others after all.

Painkillers work in various ways so it's hard to answer your question. There's many painkillers and many answers. A paracetamol has a completely different working mechanism than morphine.

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Zelindo40 t1_j4x66hv wrote

Adding to that, there are different types of nerve fibers carrying the information for different types of pain:

Fast acting A-delta fibers are responsible for that first, sharp pain one would experience after e. g. cutting their finger.

After a second or two, the usually less intense but more consistent and "dull" pain kicks in, which is carried by the slower C-type fibers.

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