Downplaying Post-Operative Pain Can Actually Lessen Its Intensity in Patients

Playing down the level of pain that comes with a surgical procedure could actually make patients feel less pain, found a study.

Researchers say that if doctors underplay the pain of a procedure, patients might avoid the nocebo effect - the placebo effect's evil twin. By downplaying the level of pain that comes with a surgical procedure, patients could actually feel a lot less pain.

Arne May's team at the University of Hamburg, Germany, applied heat to the arms of 38 volunteers over six days.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome's Pain Qualities Responsible for Impaired Functioning
A new research has shown that for carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers, itching and throbbing are pain qualities most responsible for impaired functioning and sleep disruption.

Half of them were told the heat would get more intense, and they reported constant pain levels.

The rest felt less pain as they got used to the sensation.

The first group also had increased activity in a brain area involved in pain perception.

Severe Muscle Pain Attacks Gulf War Veterans
Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) resembling fibromyalgia has been the common complaint of nearly 100,000 Gulf War veterans.

"I didn't expect that giving negative information for 5 minutes would have an effect a week later," New Scientist quoted May as saying.

The study has been published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

The Effects of Exercise on Muscular Pain
A new study has found that acute exercise can worsen muscular pain but long-term exercise reduces it.

Source-ANI

Tai Chi - For Chronic Pain Condition
Tai Chi has been considered as a successful alternative treatment for fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, by US researchers.