Feeling like we have control makes us tolerate pain better.

In a study where 21 healthy control participants could terminate a pain stimulus, researchers found that many frontal brain areas that seemed to play an essential role in modulating pain were activated.

Here's what co-investigator Martin Diers had to say:

But, what defines "impaired pain processing?"

Lead author Benjamin Mosch shares one problem that may shed light on our ability to understand this problem better:

Imagine having what feels like random bouts of disabling pain attacks that leave you physically stunned. There is a physical dimension to the impaired quality of life and a potential for associated anticipatory anxiety that tagged along for the ride.

But are these perceptions actually true?

In other words, is there an impaired pain processing problem where patients perceive that they can't control their pain when they actually can? For example, a patient states, "I have pain all the time." But is this statement true? Do they really have pain ALL the time? Every second of the day?

Or, patients tell us, "everything makes it (the pain) worse."

Really? Even blinking their eyes?

Next time you run into a patient with persistent pain, ask them if they have a perception that they can't control their pain.

If it's true, then so be it. But if it isn't, imagine how to rectify this false perception. The first step is to identify it.

Then, prove that the pain is controllable. Teach them how to modify contributing factors (e.g., change how they move to put less stress on structures that are thought to cause pain).

Martin Diers published their findings in the journal NeuroImage: Clinical of 21 February 2023.