Sensation when you hear something painful...

Factual Questions
1

I was reading this thread, and when I read post #5, about InterestedObserver’s son and I go this almost tingling sensation in the tendons below both knee caps.

I often get this sensation when seeing a photograph or hearing a description of a pretty bad injury, usually a deep cut. Sometimes it’s in multiple joints (knees, elbows, wrists).

This sensation usually leads to people going, “For the love of God, stop talking,” and then walking off while attempting to shake off the sensation.

So…any ideas? My WAG is it has to do with reflexes. Maybe upon seeing the injury, you imagine it happening to yourself and your body reacts in the way it would if the injury was, in fact happening to you. I imagine it’s mostly psychological, but I’m willing to bet a good deal of it is physiological.

InterestedObserver, glad to hear your son’s wound has healed.

2

I get a similar sensation when ever I see video of people falling on asphalt pavement. It is an intense visualization of flesh being grated off of hands and knees. Creeps me out.

3

My guess would be the same; reflexes often work both ways like that. And the body has a strong role in emotion, so sympathising with and imagining someone’s pain could easily lead to the body imitating some of the responses it would have to injury.

4

It’s a chemical reaction, a release of catecholamines, similar to the “fight or flight” response.

5

I get a weird feeling in my stomach, which sometimes can spread to other parts of my body, when I empathize with a given injury.

6

I get that feeling in my knees to upper thighs; so does my Mom.

7

I get something like that, it feels like mild electric shocks that start in my neck or lower back and radiates out to my arms or legs respectively. Really unpleasant.