In Your Own Hands – Teaching the Brain to Reduce Pain

Every Monday, my blog post “In Your Own Hands” is where I’ll be featuring articles I find interesting or that I think are a good resource to help you take charge of your health. What articles have you read recently that caught your attention? Leave a comment and let me know.

Teaching the brain to reduce pain
Chronic pain patients could learn to reduce physical pain. Pavlovian conditioning can trigger the body to block physical perceptions.

Discovery of a new means to erase pain
A study by Yves De Koninck and Robert Bonin reveals that chronic pain could potentially be treated by manipulating the neurochemical encoding of pain sensitivity.

Systematic Analyses of the Effects of Acceptance on Tolerance of Radiant Heat Pain
Acceptance and distraction are two difference approaches to dealing with chronic pain. For those who suffer radiant heat pain, acceptance increases pain tolerance more than distraction.

Overweight osteoarthritis patients have more pain: study
Osteoarthritis patients may find relief by lowering their body mass index. The intensity of pain may be related to hormones linked with obesity.

Only 25 minutes of mindfulness meditation alleviates stress
Three consecutive days of 25 minute mindfulness meditation practices is enough to alter stress. Carnegie Mellon University finds that mindfulness meditation increases psychological stress resilience.