Referred pain is when a condition in one part of the body causes pain in another. It can be frustrating for both patients and doctors, and the cause is not entirely understood. Treatment involves identifying the underlying cause and addressing it.
Referred pain is a phenomenon in which a condition in one area of the body causes pain in another location. The classic example of referred pain is pain in the left arm and neck associated with a heart attack or angina episode. In this case, the pain actually occurs in the heart, but the patient feels the pain in another location. While this type of pain has been extensively documented and studied, researchers aren’t entirely sure what causes it.
When referred pain occurs, it can be quite frustrating for both the patient and the doctor. The patient comes to the doctor to treat shoulder pain, for example, and the doctor can’t find anything wrong with the shoulder that could be causing the pain. The doctor may say that nothing can be done, which is upsetting to the patient, because he is experiencing real pain despite the lack of an obvious cause.
Some types of referred pain, such as arm and neck pain from heart attacks, are well known, and if a patient comes to the doctor with this type of pain, the doctor may order tests on the heart. In other cases, a doctor may not immediately link a pain report with specific cases of pain, in which case treatment may be delayed. Sometimes, this can be very problematic for the patient because medical conditions tend to worsen when no treatment is offered.
Phantom limb pain experienced by amputees is another example of referred pain. This type of pain is well known and widely documented, but unfortunately it is also very difficult to treat because the brain transmits signals from nerves that do not exist.
Classically, referred pain involves a problem with visceral organs that causes pain in an extremity. Some researchers have theorized that this may have something to do with the fact that nerves in the viscera typically carry very little sensory input and nerves in the extremities are more finely tuned. When these nerves meet in the same place, the brain can get confused and think that the input from the viscera is coming from one end.
Treatment for this condition is to determine the underlying cause and address it. Patients who experience persistent widespread pain without an obvious cause may want to suggest that they are experiencing referred pain and ask a doctor for additional medical tests that can be used to determine if there is a problem elsewhere in the body.
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