What is somatic pain?

Somatic pain is a type of nociceptive pain that is experienced locally.

What causes somatic pain?

The fundamental neurobiological mechanism is similar in somatic and visceral hyperalgesia and in both cases includes a peripheral component of enhanced activity from nociceptors and a central component of alteration in the central processing of low-threshold inputs.²⁵25 Cervero F. Visceral versus Somatic Pain: Similarities and Differences. Digestive Diseases. 2009, p4.

Somatic vs. visceral pain

Visceral pain is generally felt in sites distant from the organ that is the source of the pain. Both somatic and visceral pain are mediated by an enhanced sensitivity of nociceptive neurons in the CNS.²⁶Cervero F. Visceral versus Somatic Pain: Similarities and Differences. Digestive Diseases. 2009, p6.

Symptoms of somatic pain

Symptoms of somatic pain are described as intermittent or constant, aching, gnawing, throbbing or cramping.²⁷Smith CB. Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine. John Wiley & Sons, 2017, Ch 46, p523