Visceral structures are highly sensitive to distension (stretch), ischemia and inflammation, but relatively insensitive to other stimuli that normally evoke pain such as cutting or burning.
Others can experience occasional visceral pains, often very intense in nature, without any evidence of structural, biochemical or histolopathologic reason for such symptoms.
These diseases are grouped under functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) and the pathophysiology and treatment can vary greatly from GINMD.
[5] Urinary colic produced from ureteral stones has been categorized as one of the most intense forms of pain that a human being can experience.
For over two-thirds of those affected, pain is accepted as part of daily life and symptoms are self-managed; a small proportion defer to specialists for help.
Visceral pain conditions are associated with diminished quality of life, and exert a huge cost burden through medical expenses and lost productivity in the workplace.
In the early phases the pain is perceived in the same general area and it has a temporal evolution, making the onset sensation insidious and difficult to identify.
Strong emotional reactions are also common presenting signs and may include anxiety, anguish and a sense of impending doom.
Associated symptoms, which are mostly autonomic in nature, include diaphoresis, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, and anxiety (which is often described as a sense of impending doom).
A painless MI can present with all of the associated symptoms of a heart attack, including nausea, vomiting, anxiety, heaviness, or choking, but the classic chest pain described above is lacking.
[9][15] It is always important for not only the physician but also the patient to remember the dissociation between magnitude of injury to internal organs and the intensity of pain and how this can be potentially dangerous if overlooked, for example a silent heart attack.
In addition, pharmacotherapy that targets the underlying cause of the pain can help alleviate symptoms due to lessening visceral nociceptive inputs.
[21] Neurostimulation, from a device such as a spinal cord stimulator (SCS), for refractory angina has been shown to be effective in several randomized controlled trials.