The Enigma Of Pain Poem by Paul Hartal

"Pain remains an obscure riddle", he said.
"And why is that? ", she asked.

"Well, scientists still did not figure out
why some people, in spite of being injured,
don't feel pain, whereas others might suffer
from spontaneous pain without apparent reason",
he said.

"But, I believe, pain researchers must have
some theories."

He nodded. "Certainly.
In the 1960s, for example,
Ronald Melzack and P.D. Wall developed
the Gate Theory, which suggests that pain
is modulated by past experience.
They contributed to the discovery
of the body's natural opiates,
such as endorphins and enkephalins.
A McGill professor, Dr. Melzack also
investigated the bizarre phenomenon of phantom pain,
chronic pain associated with amputated limbs."


She listened with utter attention.
"How does acupuncture fit into
western pain theories? ", she asked.


"Oh, acupuncture further complicates the problem.
It is a tantalizingly elusive practice.
Western science fails to explain,
how can Chinese surgeons remove painlessly,
for instance, the stomach of a patient and using,
for analgesic, only four needles
inserted into the ears as painkillers."