Holistic thermomechanical model of skin thermal pain

Skin thermal pain is one of the most common problems for human in everyday life and in thermal therapies. However, its underlying physical mechanisms are not clearly understood, and there are few attempts to model it. In this paper, a holistic mathematical model for quantifying skin thermal pain sensation is developed. The model is composed of three interconnected parts: peripheral modulation of noxious stimuli, which converts the energy from a noxious thermal stimulus into electrical energy via nerve impulses; transmission, which transports these neural signals from the site of transduction in the skin to the spinal cord and brain; and modulation and perception in the spinal cord and brain. With the holistic model, a direct relationship is built between the level of thermal pain sensation and the character of noxious stimuli.