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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Big Rob[/i] [br][url]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=530228&in_page_id=1774&ct=5&in_poll_id=21328[/url] Crippled by back pain? The latest research says you're making it all up Back pain affects 80 per cent of us at some point in our lives, costing the NHS a staggering £800 million a year to treat. Yet a controversial new study suggests the problem may be all in the mind for many sufferers. The findings imply that, in a significant number of cases, people develop pain from reading about the problem or hearing family, friends and work colleagues moan about their own aches. The researchers believe that the mind eventually gets tricked into thinking the body is in pain, even when there has been no obvious injury or trigger. The evidence comes from a fascinating study which looked at health trends after the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990. Despite more than 40 years of separation, the two populations shared the same genetic makeup. Shortly after reunification, 69 per cent of East Germans were affected by back pain, compared with 84 per cent of their neighbours in the West. By 2003, the number of people in former East Germany complaining of back pain had risen to almost the same as in West Germany. Researchers from the University of Lübeck in Germany blame increased exposure to media reports on how back pain could be a severely disabling condition. They claim only around 15 per cent of back problems can be attributed to an underlying physical cause - such as a trapped nerve or slipped disc. Most other cases, they claim, have no obvious trigger. The report, published in the respected International Journal of Epidemiology, claimed: "In West Germany, back pain is said by the media to be frequent and unavoidable, a rising tide that is mostly due to physical wear and tear. "It's described as a leading and acceptable cause of work disability. After reunification, all those 'myths' and misconceptions about back pain being pervasive in Western societies immediately spread to East Germany." The results reflect findings from a study carried out at University College London four years ago. Scientists found mystery pain - such as lower back ache not triggered by an obvious injury - can originate in the brain rather than the back. They discovered this after hypnotising patients and telling them they were being subjected to pain when they were not. A separate non-hypnotised group was subjected to mild pain from hot probes placed near the skin. Brain scans showed both groups displayed similar levels of pain-related activity in the brain. This confirmed the mind could initiate pain, even without a physical injury to justify it. However, British experts said if back pain is all in the mind, this is only true in a very few cases. Dr Dries Hettinga, research manager at the charity BackCare, says it's more likely that people who have had occasional discomfort for years become focused on it when they read or hear about others with back pain. This increases the chances of it turning into a chronic condition that affects work and lifestyle. "There is quite a lot of evidence to say that exposure to reports of back pain can increase your chances of getting it yourself," Dr Hettinga says. "It has a lot to do with how acceptable it is in society to have back pain. We already know, for example, it is much lower among the self-employed than employees. "It's not always useful when people talk about back pain a lot. Sometimes it can be counterproductive." Dr Hettinga says many people mistakenly believe rest is the best way to ease back problems. In fact, it's better to stay at work and keep moving. Heather Wallace, spokeswoman for the charity Pain Concern, said even if the pain is all in the mind, it still needs treating. "Psychological pain is still real pain and patients still need help and support." She believes the most likely explanation is that people suffered in silence with back pain when they lived in the old East Germany but were more likely to seek help after reunification. [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature.