Pain Relief Could Be Right Under Your Nose
All too often, the very first approach to management of long-term or chronic pain comes in the form of a pill.
Both over-the-counter and prescription medications promise that all we need to do is pop one to find sweet relief.
Sometimes it works, especially when the pain is a mild headache or a sore muscle.
But when the pain is long-term or chronic, pills can turn into a serious problem.
Using nothing more than medication to control long-term pain seldom results in complete relief and can easily lead to addiction.
But scientists are showing us the way to a chemical form of pain relief that's proving better than any pill.
It's long been known that the human brain is capable of releasing many chemicals.
The number was once thought to be in the hundreds.
But new studies in neurology are showing that the number is actually in the thousands, and if one considers combinations, the number of chemicals the human brain can release may be beyond calculation.
Scientists are looking into these chemical combinations hoping to discover what the brain produces, and thus prefers, for pain relief.
Drug manufacturers, of course, hope such a discovery could lead to the production of the ultimate pain pill.
But there's reason to believe that we humans may already come equipped with the ability to tap these natural chemicals on demand.
Tests done on people suffering from schizophrenia have shown that the simple act of smiling may be the trigger that induces the brain to release a rush of chemicals that are natural mood enhancers, stress reducers and pain relievers.
Schizophrenia is commonly regarded as one of the most difficult mental illnesses to treat.
Medications must often be used in such high doses that the patient is left lethargic and unable to function.
As a result, people suffering from schizophrenia often refuse to take medication.
But a study done on a small group of schizophrenic patients revealed that smiling for just 15 minutes a 'day altered the patient's brain chemistry to the extent that prescribed medications could be cut in half.
This reduction in medications would, it was hoped, lead to patients having better relief of their symptoms with fewer negative side effects.
Participants in the study were instructed to set a timer and look into a mirror in order to monitor their actions and make sure they were actually smiling for the full 15 minutes.
They were not told to pretend they were happy, to think happy thoughts or to do anything other than physically turn the corners of their mouth up into a big smile.
By taking blood samples before and after the smiling exercise, scientists were able to show that the mere act of smiling lead to significant changes in the patient's blood chemistry.
It was noted in the test that the chemicals being released by smiling were mostly endorphins, the body's natural opiates.
Surprising as it seems, it turns out we humans come equipped with our own natural form of pain relief, and the trigger for releasing it has always been right under our noses!
Both over-the-counter and prescription medications promise that all we need to do is pop one to find sweet relief.
Sometimes it works, especially when the pain is a mild headache or a sore muscle.
But when the pain is long-term or chronic, pills can turn into a serious problem.
Using nothing more than medication to control long-term pain seldom results in complete relief and can easily lead to addiction.
But scientists are showing us the way to a chemical form of pain relief that's proving better than any pill.
It's long been known that the human brain is capable of releasing many chemicals.
The number was once thought to be in the hundreds.
But new studies in neurology are showing that the number is actually in the thousands, and if one considers combinations, the number of chemicals the human brain can release may be beyond calculation.
Scientists are looking into these chemical combinations hoping to discover what the brain produces, and thus prefers, for pain relief.
Drug manufacturers, of course, hope such a discovery could lead to the production of the ultimate pain pill.
But there's reason to believe that we humans may already come equipped with the ability to tap these natural chemicals on demand.
Tests done on people suffering from schizophrenia have shown that the simple act of smiling may be the trigger that induces the brain to release a rush of chemicals that are natural mood enhancers, stress reducers and pain relievers.
Schizophrenia is commonly regarded as one of the most difficult mental illnesses to treat.
Medications must often be used in such high doses that the patient is left lethargic and unable to function.
As a result, people suffering from schizophrenia often refuse to take medication.
But a study done on a small group of schizophrenic patients revealed that smiling for just 15 minutes a 'day altered the patient's brain chemistry to the extent that prescribed medications could be cut in half.
This reduction in medications would, it was hoped, lead to patients having better relief of their symptoms with fewer negative side effects.
Participants in the study were instructed to set a timer and look into a mirror in order to monitor their actions and make sure they were actually smiling for the full 15 minutes.
They were not told to pretend they were happy, to think happy thoughts or to do anything other than physically turn the corners of their mouth up into a big smile.
By taking blood samples before and after the smiling exercise, scientists were able to show that the mere act of smiling lead to significant changes in the patient's blood chemistry.
It was noted in the test that the chemicals being released by smiling were mostly endorphins, the body's natural opiates.
Surprising as it seems, it turns out we humans come equipped with our own natural form of pain relief, and the trigger for releasing it has always been right under our noses!
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