We think we know pain. But stories like John Sattler’s and the latest research reveal just how complex, unpredictable, and surprisingly psychological our experience of pain really is.
Here are some key insights that show why your pain might not be the same as someone else’s.
John Sattler played a final with a shattered jaw
In 1970, rugby league captain John Sattler played almost an entire grand final with his jaw broken in three places.
Bloodied and bruised, he refused to leave the field, pushing through tackles while his jaw was in pieces – an act that’s still remembered as Australian sport’s greatest show of playing through pain.
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A hammer in the neck didn’t hurt
Physiotherapy student Lorimer Moseley once watched a man walk into hospital with a hammer stuck through his neck.
The man was calm and felt no pain from the severe injury, but when he knocked his knee on a table, he jumped around in agony.
It left Lorimer Moseley wondering: what is pain, really?
Pain is your brain’s protective alarm system
Lorimer Moseley explains that pain exists to protect us. It’s the brain’s way of motivating us to guard injured body parts.
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Sometimes, the brain decides an injury isn’t the biggest threat – so pain is dialled down, or even switched off completely.
It’s never just physical – the mind is involved too
Professor Michael Nicholas says people are often uncomfortable hearing that pain has a psychological side. But it does.
Pain is always processed in the brain – which means our thoughts, fears and beliefs all shape how much we hurt.
Chronic pain is not the same as acute pain
About one in five adults lives with chronic pain. Unlike short-term acute pain, chronic pain can be disabling and is often misunderstood or dismissed.
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Many people still wrongly assume there’s a perfect link between physical damage and how much it should hurt.
Your upbringing shapes how you handle pain
How we learn to respond to pain starts young. Parents often react differently to boys and girls when they get hurt, which can affect how tough we believe we should be.
Over time, these lessons shape how we rate and tolerate pain.
Your explanation can dial pain up or down
A woman worked for hours with a burst ovarian cyst, dismissing the pain as indigestion.
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Later, doctors discovered she had a belly full of blood. It shows that if we believe pain signals danger, we feel it more intensely.
Big goals can override big pain
Elite athletes often tolerate pain because they focus on the reward – winning the game or the medal.
That mental focus can block out pain signals, at least for a while. Sattler’s determination to win is a classic example.
Social factors can influence pain thresholds
Studies show people with lower socioeconomic status tend to feel more chronic pain and have lower acute pain thresholds.
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What we expect from pain – and whether we see it as normal – makes a difference too.
Pain will always be partly a mystery
As Lorimer Moseley puts it to The Guardian: "People who think they have a higher pain threshold – we will never know", and continues: "It’s the same human that makes the pain and that tolerates it".
Artiklen er baseret på informationer fra The Guardian