playthink

Part of one’s ability to block out pain during sporting events or exercise may depend on how an individual perceives athletics.

People who thrive on competition or see athletics as empowering may have little difficulty blocking out pain or finding distractions. However, those who do not enjoy exercise or who have suffered a previous injury will likely be hobbled by pain more easily.

“Some people see exercise as the only time in the day that they’re in total control of their lives. I know that when I’m running, it’s just me and my music,” said John Lefebvre, professor of psychology at Wofford College.

“But others who may have suffered a knee injury may be worried about injuring themselves. There are some people who develop a fear — a kinetic-phobia — a fear of movement.”

Their paper, “Pain Mechanisms: A New Theory,” (Science: 150, 171-179, 1965) has been described as “the most influential ever written in the field of pain.”

Melzack and Wall suggested a gating mechanism within the spinal cord that closed in response to normal stimulation of the fast conducting “touch” nerve fibers; but opened when the slow conducting “pain” fibers transmitted a high volume and intensity of sensory signals.

The gate could be closed again if these signals were countered by renewed stimulation of the large fibers. [Source]

In the gate control theory, the experience of pain depends on a complex interplay of two systems: the central nervous system (the spinal cord and the brain) and the peripheral nervous system (nerves outside of the brain and spinal cord).

[Each of these systems] process pain signals in their own way. Upon injury, pain messages originate in nerves associated with the damaged tissue and flow along the peripheral nerves to the spinal cord and on up to the brain.

In the gate control theory, before they can reach the brain these pain messages encounter “nerve gates” in the spinal cord that open or close depending upon a number of factors (possibly including instructions coming down from the brain).

When the gates are opening, pain messages “get through” more or less easily and pain can be intense. When the gates close, pain messages are prevented from reaching the brain and may not even be experienced. [Source]

On the other hand, athletes who enjoy their success, “people who seemed perfectly content and happy … tended not to be champions.”

Reading about Friedman’s book reminds me of a conversation I recently had with a buddy of mine. This friend was born and raised in a poor African village. He represented the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and is representing his native African country at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The agony of victory, indeed.