Pain and behaviour: it’s connected
With research like Mills et al. (2020), the link between pain and behavior issues in dogs is becoming widely recognized. Vets, behaviorists, and professionals now understand that pain can present as fearfulness, aggression, or other behavior challenges. When a dog is in pain, emotions like fear and irritability often increase, similar to how humans respond to discomfort.
To understand how distress affects pain, we need to start with some background. It was once thought that the amount of tissue damage directly correlated with pain intensity, a concept known as “specificity theory” (Moayedi & Davis, 2020). However, we now know that pain perception is much more complex and influenced by contextual factors (Wiech et al., 2008). Some individuals are also hypersensitive to pain, experiencing conditions like allodynia—where non-painful stimuli cause pain—or hyperalgesia, where mildly painful stimuli result in an extreme response (Jensen & Finnerup, 2014).
This type of pain, while distressing, is real and activates the same pain neurocircuitry as other forms of pain. Interestingly, it may have evolutionary roots, as heightened pain sensitivity can help animals avoid predators (Crooke et al., 2014).
Pain hypersensitivity is linked to medical conditions like diabetes, but it can also result from emotional distress. Research shows that chronic stress and trauma can trigger hyperalgesia and increase the risk of allodynia (Jennings et al., 2014; Dib et al., 2021).
The connection between pain and distress is bidirectional. This has significant implications for treating dogs in pain. Effective pain management should include both medical interventions and strategies that reduce stress or address trauma, helping dogs get out of "survival mode." It's essential to ensure that behavioral interventions align with the dog’s pain management plan.
Common areas where dogs experience pain from Calm Canine Academy
References:
Bardin, L., Malfetes, N., Newman-Tancredi, A., & Depoortere, R. (2009). Chronic restraint stress induces mechanical and cold allodynia, and enhances inflammatory pain in rat: Relevance to human stress-associated painful pathologies. Behavioural brain research, 205(2), 360-366.
Dib, P., Zhang, Y., Ihnat, M. A., Gallucci, R. M., & Standifer, K. M. (2021). TNF-alpha as an initiator of allodynia and anxiety-like behaviors in a preclinical model of PTSD and comorbid pain. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 721999.
Crook, R. J., Dickson, K., Hanlon, R. T., & Walters, E. T. (2014). Nociceptive sensitization reduces predation risk. Current Biology, 24(10), 1121-1125.
Jennings, E. M., Okine, B. N., Roche, M., & Finn, D. P. (2014). Stress-induced hyperalgesia. Progress in Neurobiology, 121, 1-18.
Jensen, T. S., & Finnerup, N. B. (2014). Allodynia and hyperalgesia in neuropathic pain: Clinical manifestations and mechanisms. The Lancet Neurology, 13(9), 924-935.
Mills, D. S., Demontigny-Bédard, I., Gruen, M., Klinck, M. P., McPeake, K. J., Barcelos, A. M., ... & Levine, E. (2020). Pain and problem behavior in cats and dogs. Animals, 10(2), 318.
Moayedi, M., & Davis, K. D. (2013). Theories of pain: from specificity to gate control. Journal of Neurophysiology, 109(1), 5-12.
Qi, J., Chen, C., Meng, Q. X., Wu, Y., Wu, H., & Zhao, T. B. (2016). Crosstalk between activated microglia and neurons in the spinal dorsal horn contributes to stress-induced hyperalgesia. Scientific Reports, 6(1), 1-12.
Wiech, K., Ploner, M., & Tracey, I. (2008). Neurocognitive aspects of pain perception. Trends in cognitive sciences, 12, 306-313.