By Noralyn Dudt PAIN is not imagined, but your brain plays a role. A large number of the population suffers from chronic pain which is defined as pain experienced most days to some, or every day to the unfortunate others. Conditions include migraines, sciatica and gastrointestinal disorders, as well as shoulder, knee and elbow pain. Back and neck pain have been experienced by a lot of people at some point in their lives. The medical community has traditionally regarded chronic pain in one or two ways. Doctors either consider it a structural problem caused by tissue damage—muscle strain, ruptured disks, an inflamed or torn tendon; or they shrug, saying they cannot find anything wrong and suggest painkillers, physical therapy, rest, or a different diet or lifestyle. In too many cases, surgery is performed, despite dismal success rates of around 25 per cent. The view that chronic pain originates in the brain—that it is fundamentally a psychological phenomenon, and can
Online edition of The Ilocos Times, a community newspaper based in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.