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Module 1.6d

also seem to be experiencing pain (Symbaluk et al., 1997). This may help explain the
apparent social aspects of pain, as when groups of Australian keyboard operators during
the mid-1980s suffered outbreaks of severe pain while typing or performing other repeti-
tive work — without any discernible physical abnormalities (Gawande, 1998). Sometimes,
the pain in a sprain is mainly in the brain — literally. When people feel empathy for
another’s pain, their own brain activity partly mirrors the activity of the actual brain in
pain (Singer et al., 2004).
Controlling Pain

If pain is where body meets mind — if it is both a physical and a psychological phenomenon —
then it should be treatable both physically and psychologically. Depending on the symp-
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Not for redistribution.
toms, pain control therapies may include drugs, surgery, acupuncture, electrical stimulation,
massage, exercise, hypnosis (see Module 5.5), relaxation training, meditation, and thought
distraction.
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.

Gary Conner/Medical Images

Acupuncture: A jab well done This acupuncturist is attempting to help this woman
gain relief from back pain by using needles on points of the patient’s hand.

Placebos
Even placebos can help, by dampening the central nervous system’s attention and responses
®
to painful experiences — mimicking painkilling drugs (Eippert et al., 2009; Wager & Atlas, AP Science Practice
2013). After being injected in the jaw with a stinging saltwater solution, men in one exper- Research
iment received a placebo they had been told would relieve the pain. It did — they immedi-
ately felt better. “Nothing” worked. The men’s belief in the fake painkiller triggered their Placebos play an important role
in medical research. The experi-
brain to respond by dispensing endorphins, as revealed by activity in an area that releases mental method typically includes
natural painkilling opioids (Scott et al., 2007; Zubieta et al., 2005). an experimental group (exposed
Another experiment pitted two placebos — fake pills and pretend acupuncture — against to the treatment) and a control
group (given a placebo or different
each other (Kaptchuk et al., 2006). People with persistent arm pain received either sham version of the treatment).
acupuncture (with trick needles that retracted without puncturing the skin) or blue corn-
starch pills that looked like a medication often prescribed for strain injury. After two months,
both groups were reporting less pain, with the fake acupuncture group reporting the greater
pain drop. One-fourth of those receiving the nonexistent needle pricks and 31 percent of
those receiving the fake pills even complained of side effects, such as painful skin or dry
mouth and fatigue.

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