It was my wife’s idea. Names like ‘About Pain’, ‘Pain Explained’, and ‘The Pain Blog’ seemed suitable to me. “Too boring”, she thought. “How about ‘Andrew’s Pain Blog’ or ‘Wright-on Pain'” I suggested. “Eeeek” she replied. She suggested some pretty weird alternatives. “All in tune with the zeitgeist of the times” she reassured me. For some reason, ‘The Pain Jam’ stuck in my head. The more I thought about it, the more appropriate ‘The Pain Jam’ seemed. In a nutshell, this is why.
Misunderstanding is the central theme of this blog. Misunderstanding is a barrier to understanding pain; it’s a log jam, a Pain Jam. Pain’s a complex topic. So one of my aims is to simplify and clarify as many aspects of pain as I can to correct or prevent misunderstandings. This project will include pain treatment, neuroscience, psychology and philosophy. But misunderstanding is not the sole preserve of the layman. I believe that current pain science is handicapped by misunderstandings. In due course I’ll explain why I think that such fundamental aspects of pain science as a ‘noxious stimulus’, the ‘nociceptive system’ (the sensory system involved in pain), and the concept that pain functions as the conscious awareness of the stimulus are all Pain Jams.
The Pain Jam 