One Simple Way to Reduce Pain Intensity Anytime, Anywhere
December 7, 2011 by Amy Grimes
Filed under Health & Wellness
Could crossing your arms be enough to significantly reduce pain?
In a small study, participants were given a pinprick on their hand. It was given once with their hands at their side and again while their arms were crossed. They were asked to rate the intensity of the pain and in addition were given an EEG to measure the electrical responses.
Both their self-response and the EEG showed significantly less pain sensations when their arms were crossed.
Dr. Giandomenico Iannetti, lead author, suggests
“In everyday life you mostly use your left hand to touch things on the left side of the world, and your right hand for the right side of the world – for example when picking up a glass of water on your right side you generally use your right hand.
This means that the areas of the brain that contain the map of the right body and the map of right external space are usually activated together, leading to highly effective processing of sensory stimuli. When you cross your arms these maps are not activated together anymore, leading to less effective brain processing of sensory stimuli, including pain, being perceived as weaker.”
Researches believe the results from this study could help to find new treatments for pain.
For us, it’s another tool to help reduce pain symptoms in the here and now.
“The analgesic effect of crossing the arms”
A. Gallacea, D.M.E. Tortab, , G.L. Moseleyd and G.D. Iannetti
PAIN – Volume 152, Issue 6, June 2011, Pages 1418-1423
