Here's today's feel-good story:
Scientists have developed an effective treatment for back pain that changes how the brain and back communicate.
Focusing on the nervous system rather than pain killers leaves twice as many people pain-free as conventional treatment in a 12-week course.
Sometimes the mind can overcome matter, so using this logic, researchers say that sensorimotor retraining can change how people think about pain.
“If you compare the results to studies looking at opioid treatment versus placebo, the difference for that is less than one point out of 10 in pain intensity, and it is only short term and there is little improvement in disability,” said study author Professor James McAuley from the University of New South Wales.
“We see similar results for studies comparing manual therapy to sham (therapy) and exercise to sham (therapy).”