Study: When It Comes To Pain, Don't Think About It

DETROIT (WWJ) New British research finds that positive thinking like Buddhist mediation techniques could be invaluable to those suffering with chronic pain, because our brain dictates our perception of pain.

Their study in the pain matrix revealed volunteers subjected to bursts of heat from a laser, tend to feel the burn more if they were expecting it.

The study involved three groups of 120 people, those without chronic pain, arthritis patients and people with fibromyalgia, a still largely unexplained chronic pain condition.

They found when patients anticipated the painful pulse, a brain area called the insular cortex increased its activity and that predicted the extent and intensity of the pain reaction.

Learn more about the study HERE.