Episode Details

Pain is something we all want less of, yet it’s one of the most important protective systems we have — and it’s far stranger than it seems, because pain is not simply a measurement of damage but something the brain actively creates. This episode explores how pain really works, and why that changes how we understand it.

You’ll come away understanding how the body detects harm and signals it, why pain is made in the brain rather than in the injured part, why the amount of pain doesn’t always match the amount of damage, and what this means for people living with long-term pain.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: Lorimer Moseley & David Butler, Explain Pain; the “Pain” resources from the Australian Pain Society; Irene Tracey’s neuroimaging research on pain.