Sharp vs Dull Pain in BDSM
Sharp and dull pain in BDSM feel completely different. What each one does to you, and how to discover safely which kind suits you.
Glossary
Pinwheel
A real examination instrument from the doctor's office that does exactly the same thing in the bedroom as what it was made for.
What is a pinwheel?
A pinwheel is a stainless-steel wheel with sharp, evenly spaced points on a handle of about eighteen centimeters, moved rolling across the skin. The object comes from neurology, where it serves to test whether someone still feels stimulation. In sensation play that exact same reaction is what people seek.
| Also known as | the Wartenberg wheel, named after neurologist Robert Wartenberg |
| What it is | stainless steel, a handle of about eighteen centimeters, one or more wheels with radial points |
| Where it comes from | neurological examination, where feeling for pain and touch is mapped |
| What it gives | from a tickle to a sharp prick, depending on pressure and speed, without breaking the skin |
| Where it does not belong | eyes, mucous membranes, broken skin, and over a tattoo or mole |
| Hygiene | its own wheel per person, or a disposable version; stainless steel is only safe once it is really cleaned |
Why a pinwheel feels so sharp
Because the weight of the whole handle rests on a handful of points at once.
The skin reports touch and pain with nerve endings that sit near the top; in the StatPearls chapter on the anatomy of the skin, Wilfredo Lopez-Ojeda and colleagues name, among others, the Merkel cells, touch receptors that register pressure change at the base of the epidermis. A rolling wheel delivers, per point, a short, sharp pressure change and then nothing more, dozens of times a second. That is why a pinwheel stings and a flat hand strokes.
Robert Wartenberg did not make the instrument, he made it known. In JAMA of October 16, 1937, he wrote a letter to the editor under the heading “A Pinwheel for Neurologic Examination,” in response to a colleague who had described another instrument earlier that year. The wheel has carried his name ever since.
What to watch for
The skin stays intact as long as you do not push, and that condition is the whole safety question.
Rolling is enough. Whoever holds the wheel in place and puts force on it drives the points through the epidermis, and then there is suddenly a small wound instead of a sensation. From that moment other rules apply: the epidermis, according to that same StatPearls chapter, is the first physical barrier against micro-organisms, and that barrier is then open.
That also explains why you do not lend the wheel out. The encyclopedia entry notes that the instrument is barely used in medicine anymore, precisely for hygienic reasons, and that plastic disposable versions exist. Keep one wheel per person, or use a disposable one. And stay away from eyes, mucous membranes and any skin that is already broken.
Where this fits on this site
Rolling sensation play is part of what can happen during a BDSM date; which tools come out on the table, we agree beforehand.
Sources
- Anatomy, Skin (Integument). Wilfredo Lopez-Ojeda, Amarendra Pandey, Mandy Alhajj & Amanda M. Oakley, StatPearls Publishing, NCBI Bookshelf (NBK441980), updated October 17, 2022. Gives that the skin is the body’s first physical defense against the outside world and protects against micro-organisms, dehydration, ultraviolet light and mechanical damage, and that Merkel cells are touch receptors that register pressure change at the base of the epidermis.
- A Pinwheel for Neurologic Examination. Robert Wartenberg, JAMA 109(16), 1294, October 16, 1937 (DOI 10.1001/jama.1937.02780420054022). The piece the wheel owes its name to. Only the citation details and the opening line were read here: it is a letter to the editor that begins with a reference to an instrument Dr. E. L. Stern had described earlier that year in the same journal. The full text sits behind a paywall and was not used.
- Wartenberg wheel. Wikipedia. The only overview entry on this object; used here only for descriptive details and not for claims about effect or safety. Gives that the wheel is stainless steel with a handle of about eighteen centimeters, that the evenly spaced radial points turn along as the wheel rolls across the skin, that a plastic disposable version exists, that the instrument is rarely used for medical purposes anymore for hygienic reasons, and that Wartenberg himself stated he had not invented it but had found it already in wide use in Europe.
Related terms
A pinwheel is a tool for sensation play; the family around it is everything that stimulates the skin without breaking it.
- Sensation play. The umbrella a pinwheel is a tool for.
- Medical play. The corner this instrument comes from, with the doctor’s office as its setting.
- Inspection. The examination ritual a pinwheel often goes along with.
- Abrasion. Scraping instead of pricking, and the point where the skin does open.
- Peppermint oil. Sensation without an event, along a very different route.
- Ice cubes. The same play with temperature instead of pressure.
- Neon wand. The device a pinwheel is sometimes connected to for an electrical variant.
Frequently asked questions
What people still ask about the pinwheel.
What is a pinwheel?
A pinwheel is a stainless-steel wheel with sharp points on a handle of about eighteen centimeters, that rolls across the skin. The object comes from neurological examination, where it is used to test feeling for pain and touch. In sensation play it is also called a Wartenberg wheel.
Does a pinwheel break your skin?
Not as long as the wheel rolls. The points then each give a short pressure stimulus and are gone again. Push the wheel into the skin in one spot, and the points do go through, and you have a small wound instead of a sensation, with the epidermis as defense barrier open.
How hygienic is a pinwheel?
As hygienic as the cleaning between two people. Stainless steel can be cleaned well, but the points easily hold on to something, and it is for that reason that the wheel is barely used in medicine anymore. Keep one pinwheel per person, or take the plastic disposable version.
Who can you turn to with questions about a pinwheel?
Victor, a gigolo with twenty-five years of experience in BDSM and trained as a psychotherapist. Which tools come out on the table during a BDSM date he agrees with you beforehand, so a pinwheel never appears unannounced. Ask your question through the contact form or start with a free chat.
Blog
Articles about sharp stimulation on the skin
A pinwheel gives the sharp kind of stimulation. These two articles are about how that feels next to the dull kind, and about what a first pinprick does to your body awareness.
BDSM for Women: Needle Play, Sensation, and Body Awareness
BDSM for women: how needle play, surrender, and body awareness bring you closer to yourself. Safe, with consent and RACK.
Related service
Sensation play during a BDSM date
Which stimuli come by and which you would rather skip, we decide together beforehand. The service page explains how that preparation goes.
BDSM date
Book a BDSM date with a gigolo who has 25 years of experience. Safe, intense, always within your limits, from soft bondage to dominance.
More info
Still have questions about the pinwheel?
I'm Victor. Whether a little wheel like this tickles you or feels too sharp, you only know once you feel it; what gets used you decide beforehand. Feel free to write, it costs nothing and you are not tied to anything.
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