Scratchy Itchy

Once upon a time I heard/read that a point of ‘pain’ registers in a different part of the body to where it is occuring. To wit, if you put pressure on certain parts of your anatomy [do it now!] you can sometimes find that a not too unpleasant pain is activated elsewhere. Obviously this will have something to do with the methods involved in the art of acupuncture?

You EEEDIOT! Are you trying to kill me man? I thought this was about disembowling cartoon cats. Uh, was there a question there? If you can press one part of your body and feel a sensation elsewhere the answer is yes.

And a let us welcome you SDMB with this laural, and hearty handshake.

I was looking for the Itchy and Scratchy Show also. What a disapointment!

What parts can you apply pressure to and feel it elsewhere? Like, touching your knee and feeling it in your thigh or something?

Well, if you poke a certain part of your brain - push that Q-tip way in there - you can feel it in your thigh. Or so I assume.

When I shave, my feet get itchy.

What you are referring to is termed referred pain.

It is thought to arise from the way sensory nerves are connected in to the spinal cord. For example, nerves that relate to the heart have the same relative insertion in to the spinal cord as those that innervate the jaw, neck and shoulders, which is why pain is felt here during a heart attack.

The other theory is that a human foetus develops from three layers of tissue as an embryo. One layer develops to become skeletal components, another to become musculature, and the other to become all the other soft tissues, including nervous tissue. Hence, nervous links between totally sperated tissues may persist into adulthood.

The first theory is the generally more accepted model.

Apparently you can do stuff with feet massages. its a chinese thing where U rub a certain part of your foot a certain way you can make them sleepy or make them feel like to crap or even get an erection!

The most common example of a displaced sensation is the so-called funny bone. There’s a spot near you elbow which, when struck, makes that hand feel all tingly. As to whether this can alleiviate pain, rather than causing it, and whether something can have an effect as far away as the foot and other parts of the body, I can’t say.

Padeye wrote:

Hey there, Howard Johnson, it’s spelled laurel.