It’s long been a household debate: who really is the stronger sex, men or women? It’s no secret that physically, men often outperform women. But women have long argued that the gruelling experiences of…
Deliberately inflicting pain or injury by cutting oneself or some other form of self-mutilation seems incomprehensible to many people. But it’s a common, typically secretive, experience for about 8% of…
For many years physicians and scientists have been studying people with congenital analgesia, a rare genetic disorder that means they don’t feel pain. People with the condition may have a sense of touch…
Taking a marijuana pill is more effective at relieving pain than smoking the drug, a new US study of daily marijuana smokers has shown, but the authors warn the findings may not translate to non-regular…
In an evolutionary sense, memory of pain serves an important purpose. Pain indicates a threat to our safety or our life, and human survival depends on us avoiding things that are going to kill us. Historically…
Researchers have mapped the genes that control pain perception in fruit flies, mice, and potentially humans. The map consists of gene pathways that help flies and mice sense pain and set pain thresholds…
So we have a problem for you. Take a moment to steady yourself, maybe sharpen your pencil. Don’t unpack your calculator, and leave your phone to one side. This one will be purely mental – a spot of addition…
Australians living with back problems are 2.5 times more likely to experience a depressive disorder than the wider population, according to a report released today by the government’s Australian Institute…
Hypnosis in one form or another has been around for thousands of years, but until recently, evidence to support its biological and clinically powerful effects have been lacking. Today hypnosis is used…
Laughing with friends for around 15 minutes boosts a person’s pain threshold by an average of 10%, an international study has found. Laughter has long been associated with well-being, even inspiring a…
British researchers say they have identified the gene that controls chronic pain, opening the door to new drug therapies that block the chemical processes that cause chronic back pain, headaches or arthritis…
Switch on daytime television on any given day and you’d be forgiven for thinking there was a cure for the debilitating and dreaded condition, osteoarthritis. Unfortunately, there’s not. And that’s not…
Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut School of Nursing; Assistant Director, UCONN Center for Advancement in Managing Pain, University of Connecticut