Why does your head hurt when you eat something cold? Is it true that having a heart attack can cause arm pain?
The key to both is referred pain – the sensation of feeling pain in one part of the body, when it’s actually caused by a problem in another area entirely.
‘Referred pain usually happens because the brain receives “crossed wires” when it perceives pain,’ explains Kirsty Bannister, an associate professor in pain neuroscience at Imperial College London and spokesman for the British Pain Society.
‘Pain isn’t perceived at the site of injury – the perception of pain is generated in the brain,’
To provide well-rounded coverage and a breadth of insight across various events, we rely on contributions from several staff writers, each bringing their own area of expertise to our publication.
