Some People Surrender to Pain More Easily Than Others
May 14, 2005 — -- You've heard the sayings: No pain, no gain. Mind over matter. Just do it.
Many athletes have used similar sayings as inspiration to overcome pain and will themselves on during competition or exercise routines. We've seen athletes overcome physical pain to perform Herculean feats: Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug standing on one leg, her face contorted in anguish, after completing her last gold medal-clinching vault with torn ligaments in her ankle in the 1996 Olympics; Joe Namath hobbling in the quarterback's pocket before tossing a touchdown; and Mickey Mantle limping around the bases after hitting a home run.
We've all faced pain or discomfort while exercising and competing -- and handled the challenge differently. Why do some people give in to pain while others thrive in spite of it?
"It may be that elite athletes are endowed with more inherent capacity to regulate or modify their pain experiences, along with other talents that training, discipline and motivation can accentuate and optimize." said Perry Fine, professor of anesthesiology at the Pain Research Center at the University of Utah.
"If we could figure out how to 'harness' these capabilities, we would be a lot closer to being able to help alleviate chronic pain," he said.
Psychologists have been looking for a common denominator among those who are able to perform in stressful situations. That knowledge could help others deal with their pain.
The "gate control" theory, proposed by Canadian psychologist Ronald Melzack and British physiologist Patrick Wall in 1965, suggests that the sensation of pain may never reach the brain in some people.
The theory suggests that there is a "gating" mechanism within the spinal cord that opens and closes and may allow or prohibit pain from registering.
"Back in the 1950s, there was some thought that people experienced pain the same way -- that people who experience the same amount of tissue damage to a particular area experience the same amount of pain, and that just isn't true," said John Lefebvre, professor of psychology at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. "It could be that some people, like runners, don't respond to pain the same way. They are more able to block out the pain while others may become preoccupied with it and feel more pain as a result."
In World War II, some medics reported seeing soldiers with horrific injuries who said they felt no pain until they were treated for their injuries. Patrick Ireland, one of the victims of the Columbine High School shootings, threw himself out of a window to escape and said he did not feel pain as he was trying to get to safety.
"With those examples from World War II and the kid from Columbine, some believed that those people experienced some kind of stress-induced analgesic that enabled them not to feel any pain," said Lefebvre. "But with Kerri Strug, she clearly felt pain. You could see it in her face. Perhaps with the hopes of an entire nation on your shoulders and your being this close to the medal, something you've worked years to achieve, that could be as big a motivating factor as anything."
Chris Febles, a coordinator for the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, has been well-acquainted with the pain associated with running. He ran long distance in high school and returned to competitive running a few years ago to stay in shape. Last year, the 32-year-old ran in the New York City Marathon.
