Thinking away your pain, mind over matter Options

Brain scans help think away pain
It may really be a matter of mind over matter - scientists suggest it is possible to control brain activity to reduce the pain you feel.
Stanford University researchers found seeing brain scans and using mental exercises helped reduce pain.

A UK pain expert said the work backed other studies which suggested changing how people thought about pain could reduce its effects.

The research is in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Hope

Thirty-six volunteers took part in the study.


I'd think of little people on my back digging out the pain, or I'd think of snowflakes
Laura Tibbitt, who took part in the study 

Heat was applied to their palms, with the temperature for each person set depending on what they found painful.

One group was placed inside a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner where they were able to watch their brain activity on a moment-by-moment basis.

They were then shown "live" action images of their rostral anterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain responsible for processing pain.

Nexy, they were given various mental strategies to try to train the brain to respond to pain differently, such as being asked to think of it as a relatively pleasant experience.

Over time, the eight people who went through this training procedure showed an increased ability to modulate their response to pain.

Other groups were either shown no scans at all - and just given behavioural techniques to help them cope with pain, or shown scans of different areas of the brain, or those showing other people's pain responses.

People in these groups showed no changes in how they responded to pain.

'Brain exercise'

Dr Sean Mackey, who led the research, said the study findings offered great hope for people who suffer chronic pain.

"We could change people's lives.

"However, significantly more science and testing must be done before this can be considered a treatment for chronic pain."

He said it was not clear how people had controlled their brain activity, but added: "We really don't know how anyone controls their brain to perform an action."

Laura Tibbitt, 31, who took part in the study, has chronic back pain caused by a horseback riding accident seven years ago, said she used different thoughts to decrease the pain while watching her brain scans.

She said: "I'd think of little people on my back digging out the pain, or I'd think of snowflakes.

"The goal was to exercise your brain, to retrain your brain. Sometimes I felt like I had made a change in my brain. The pain was never completely gone, but it was better."

Dr Beverley Collett, president of the British Pain Society, said: "In some ways, this supports some of what we are already doing in pain treatment, using cognitive therapy to change how people think about their pain.

"And we know psychological treatments do help people manage their pain."



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/4524138.stm

Published: 2005/12/13 13:50:02 GMT

© BBC MMV

Excellent, now thats all clear can we continue with the discussion - I am quite interested in this topic since I get what seem to be migraines.

Does anyone know a good way to deal with this type of headache?

Excellent, now thats all clear can we continue with the discussion - I am quite interested in this topic since I get what seem to be migraines.

Does anyone know a good way to deal with this type of headache?

Mine are triggered by changes in barometric pressure, so I get one whenever a storm comes in or leaves. I take 800 mg ibuprofen to kill the underlying inflammation and I'm usually fine in about 30 minutes or so.

Best thing to do is see your doc and see what they say.

As for concentrating to get the pain away, it doesn't work for migraines, at least for me. They destroy my ability to concentrate. Once they're gone, or at least under control, I'm fine, but if I don't abort one as soon as it appears I'm screwed for the next few days.

OK so i definately believe the mind over manner bit, but what of the dangers? Pain isnt always a curse. Sometimes its the best way your body can communicate with you. For those who have the self control to numb themselves, thats not necessarily psychologically healthy. Your body is TELLING you something. I'm not saying pander to your symptoms...but let me give you an example: Im a singer. A cardinal rule for all singers is not to use pain medication for your throat when you're singing. Why? Because pain tells you when you're straining. I shouldnt ignore my throat if it tells me im straining too hard. If i did...i could potentially destroy my voice and my career.
Here's another example: If your ankle hurts you...dont just VISUALIZE healing. Magic always follows the easiest route, correct? The appropriate thing to do is to go to a professional doctor or stretch your muscles or have surgery or get a cast or rest your leg for a while. Then visualize yourself getting better. Visualization is important. But magic is much more productive and powerful when backed up with physical action....

now if there is no physical treatment, that is when mind over matter is appropriate. I have made a pact with my body. It tells me when i am hungry...so i eat when i need to. But if i cant eat immediately ill put it out of my mind with the promise that ill eat when i can. In doing this...i have forgotten to eat all day and more than once...so I make sure i listen to my body most of the time, because it usually has something worth while to tell me.
I truly believe in this method...but it cant just be onesided, because then the body becomes ill and you dont realize it until you have more than just the 'annoying' symptoms. Concerning such methods of displacing pain, i have experimented some; i don't have to feel cold...it just becomes a numb sensation. And i can turn this off and on. But i choose to leave it on because there is ALWAYS something i can do about it.

Ok so i dont mean to change the subject or anything...but just as a sidenote: No one ever thinks of the body as a seperate entity...we all share this general assumption that the body is here for us, the egocentric mind. But if we begin to mentally sidestep the body's will...couldn't that possibly indicate there's more to it then just the thinking part of the brain? Perhaps that mind is SEPERATE from the body all together and they coexist because neither can last long without the other? And following this assumption, couldn't the mind simply appear to be the leader of a billion or more individual working and living cells? Thats a major responsibility we have over our bodies! I suppose one can also think of it as a bunch of chemical reactions in which case thinking is led by the body...and the body is majorly responsible for the thoughts. Whatever the case, its obviously a symbiotic relationship we have with our body...and those who believe in afterlife should hold such a vessel dear. Those who don't, here's another reason to love the fragile skin your in.

This post has been edited by valkyrie: Feb 5 2007, 07:24 PM