Chronic Pain Conference Says, "Forget Your Aches"

by Martin A. David
martin.david@medicalhealthcarecareerschools.com
Health Columnist

Chronic pain syndrome may originate in the muscles and joints, but medical scientists have pointed to the memory as the possible culprit with ongoing acute pain. Does that mean the answer to pain relief is, "Just forget about it?" Not quite, according to chronic pain researcher Professor Rolf Treede from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany.

Treede points out that most patients have trouble remembering and describing acute pain symptoms from the past. When asked to recall the specifics of a chronic pain attack. However, they can recall the exact circumstances of the painful incident or their surroundings when the chronic pain syndrome began to plague them.

Using Memory for Chronic Pain Management
Injuries and sudden acute pain attacks give the body a number of alarm signals. These incidents are taken in by the memory as a way of protecting the body. The nervous system becomes sensitized to this chronic pain memory which, in effect, locks them in place. In other words the body learns the pain and holds on to it as a form of knowledge. This mind and body connection is a basic system found in all animals—including humans.

Learning from Experience
The evolutionary advantage - or, in plain English, the benefit - of this acute pain learning mechanism is to steer the body away from situations that will cause pain. In the case of chronic pain, the mechanism has gone too far and holds the pain memory without any relief.

Some of the means being described at the Sydney pain conference include hypnosis, psycho-pharmacological medications, and counseling. These approaches, used separately or in tandem, are proving extremely effective in both immediate pain relief and long term chronic pain management.

About the Author
Martin A. David consults as a Senior Technical Writer for a number of Silicon Valley firms. He is also a translator, specializing in Danish, French and Spanish literary works. He has written numerous feature articles for publications including the Los Angeles Times. He has also published a novel, and a non-fiction book in the area of dance. Martin earned his B.A. in Liberal Arts from Brooklyn College in his native New York. He currently chairs the Santa Clara Cultural Advisory Commission in Santa Clara, California.