Neuroscience in Action, Literally
Have you ever hit your thumb while hammering and yelled Son of a $@%*!
I have (But I have yelled worse than that…) And I instantly grabbed my thumb to squeeze onto it. But why is that my instinct? Why would I ‘grab’ the thing thats damaged? It’s because the nervous system has lots of pathways each responsible for various sensations, for movement and of course, for pain.
Our finger, upon smacking it, sends a signal back to our control centre (the brain) of that stimulus which our brain receives and send a signal of pain back down to our finger. This happens as fast as it takes for a light in your house to come on after switching it.
However one signal involves a pain pathway that is distinct from the pathway we use for feeling. When we grab our finger, we are diverting the strength of the impulse from our brain to our finger. In other words, we are reducing the strength of the pain signal sent to our finger by creating a new signal which is sensation.
The sensation pathway (touching or squeezing our finger) “muddles” the pain pathway so on net, we feel less pain than we otherwise would have. In other words, the signal is clouded by a new input.
It’s been said too that swearing or cursing when you are injured also reduces the reported pain scores. I suspect that this is the same sort of neurological mechanism involved.
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Check out other articles for little facts that you can tell & be careful while using a hammer.
#StayOnTheBall
