Pain is all in the mind

BEIJING, Dec. 25 -- How come some people need pain

killers even just to sit in a dentist's chair? And how is it possible for rugby

players to stay in the game even with a broken arm?

Sydney University lecturer Lorimer Moseley has spent

a lot of time studying these questions - and come up with some not-so-surprising

answers.

In a recent research project, published in the latest

edition of the journal Current Biology, Moseley and his collaborators found the

size of an aching limb can affect the perception of pain.

Ten people with aching arms looked at their damaged

limbs either through glass that magnified or minimized. If the limb was made to

look large, the patient's perception of pain was amplified. When the swelling

was artificially reduced, the real swelling reduced and the patient felt less

pain.

The explanation seemed to be that the brain was

responding to inputs and acting accordingly.

So, when you next bump your head, don't look in the

mirror and marvel at the size of the swelling. A less painful response would be

to imagine no swelling there at all.

(Source:

chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)