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Sub-Space and Runner's High
The Mechanics Of Good Pain
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Understanding how people can enjoy pain requires an understanding of how our nervous system works and pain's relationship to
it. The following is a brief summary of pain and how it works.
First, there are two basic kinds of pain, acute and chronic. I will only deal with acute pain here because of it's relevance to BDSM.
Pain resulting from a blow of a cane, riding crop or other percussion instrument would be an example of acute pain. Pain resulting
from hot wax or some sort of clamping device would also be acute pain.
There are three broad types of pain that are distinguished by their nature. Pricking pain and burning pain, felt by breaking or
irritating the skin, and aching pain, felt deep inside the
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body. In BDSM, we deal with the two former types of pain, where a
distance runner would deal with the latter.
Pricking pain travels to the brain through nerve fibers called A delta. Aching and burning pain travel
through smaller fibers called C
fibers. Just as it is with buss speed on a computer, A delta fibers move the pain impulse faster than the
C fibers, hence, there is
some delay in the impulses generated from burning and aching pain.
With the impulse and the path that pain travels established, there are three
critical locations that constitute a complete system that needs be addressed
in order for the experience of pain to be realized. First, there is the injured
tissue where the impulse begins. Second, the spinal column, which is the main
trunk way for the transmission of the impulse to the third location, the brain.
This system is very complicated and does not work in an evenly distributed
network of unidirectional communication. There are multiple branched, bi-directional
mini-systems that interconnect for the conveyance of information to and from
the point of impulse and the brain. In some respect, it may be compared to
how the Internet works today. Many different flows of information being routed
around and back and forth throughout the body. There is no long, straight
pipeline that transmits data directly to the brain as is often what people
think. If you cut your finger, the pain doesn't shoot right up your arm and
into your brain.
Here is how it works; when you are hit by something say, like a riding crop, the strike against
the skin actually damages tissue. The
harder the strike, the more the damage. Chemicals are released by damaged tissue that increase the pain signal.
The primary
chemicals that increase the pain impulse are prostaglandins and bradykinin. Of the two, bradykinin is the
most potent pain
producing substance which to date there is no known way to block. Prostaglandins are easily blocked by the
use of aspirin. If these
chemicals are not blocked, the pain impulse that they
have magnified, is sent on to the spinal column.
There is a region on the exterior of the spinal column called the dorsal horn. The next step for the pain
impulse is to enter the dorsal
horn where it is unclear at this date, what exactly happens.. We do know that the spinal column releases
chemicals known as
neurotransmitters which send the impulses forward towards the brain.
There are two main avenues which the pain impulse travel within the spinal column. There is the paleospinothalamic
path for dull
and burning pain and the neospinothalamic path for localized sharp pain. Now the spinal column does have it's own
methods of
reducing or blocking pain, one of which is a neurotransmitter called substance P, but if these do not halt the
transmission of the pain
impulse, it continues on to the brain. A pain impulse that is not blocked in transmission by one of these chemicals
is called a
nonreceptive impulse. It is assumed that the nervous system stops some light pain impulses so that the brain will
not be
overwhelmed with processing every small, non-intrusive impulse that it encounters.
What happens in the brain with pain is still an open question to science. We know that sharp pain and dull pain
move on different
paths to the thalamus and then to the cerebral cortex. This is where our emotional responses are controlled.
A better understanding
of the relationship between the pain impulse and this region might lead to a better understanding of the pleasure
a masochist feels in
receiving pain. Unfortunately, there is little
known at this date about what really happens at this stage.
We do know that the brain produces opiate like peptides called endorphins, enkenphalins, and dynorphins that are
natural analgesic
substances which bind to receptors in the brain much the same as morphine does. This reaction within the brain is
what is assumed
to cause the high feeling that long
distance runners claim to experience and what the masochist experiences as 'Sub-Space'.
It has been speculated that there are unique pain impulses produced from different types of pain producing practices
in BDSM
which trigger varying means of transmission of the pain impulse and varying deployment of the opiate substances in
the brain. If this
is true, then using a crop or a cane may give a
slightly different high to the submissive than would the use of clothes pins or hot wax.
Something to be watched for is the effect that these chemical substances may have on the other senses. The body's
chemistry can
be affected in such a way that the sense of taste or smell will be altered. I have personal experience of a submissive
that smoked
and noted that every time he went into sub-space his cigarettes tasted like grape jelly. Another instance happened
where a
submissive found he could not tolerate the smell of my perfume after a strong beating. I didn't take offense to
this because I am
aware that in the hospital, medial care professionals are not supposed to wear perfume, or should wear medical
environment
approved perfume, for much the same reason.
When people are in pain, they often can't tolerate what they normally would.
It should also be noted that a submissive in sub-space may not be able to
call a stop to a scene when it would otherwise be too intense for them to
bear. They very well may go beyond what is safe for them physically, because
they are under the influence of the natural pain inhibitors released by their
bodies. The Dominant needs to understand that having a safe word agreed on before
the scene begins, does not ensure that it will be used at a safe time. To
some degree, safe words can be dangerous for the Dominant that is not experienced
or who is out of touch with the submissive. It sets up a false sense of security.
Always, if you are to error, error on the side of safety and call a scene
early, rather than too late!
From the above, we can see how the physical sensations of pain can be transformed into a euphoric experience for
the submissive.
It is safe, provided the use of whatever is creating the pain impulse does not exceed what the skin tissue and
it's underlying organs
can tolerate, without sustaining critical injury.
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