Techniques Like Counting Backwards Are an Effective Way to Distract Yourself From Pain

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By counting backward from 1000 in steps of seven, 20 volunteers of a recent experiment reported that they were distracted from the pain and experienced relief from roughly half of the painful sensations.

Studies have shown that before the brain can react appropriately to pain, it must first evaluate the exchange of information between different regions of the brain, such as the sensory, cognitive, and emotional factors before processing the sensation itself. New studies have also shown a link between the subjective perception of pain and the levels of neural activity detected in various sectors of the brain.

Researchers from the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, asked the 20 volunteers subjected to a painful cold stimulus to distract themselves using different techniques. During the experiment, the subjects were hooked up to an MRI scanner to analyze neural activity in the brain.

To measure the effectiveness of the different coping strategies, the participants were asked to evaluate the intensity on a scale of 0-100.  Based on the MRI results, scientists found out that people who counted backward from 1000 experienced lesser pain than those who thought of something pleasant and those who tried to persuade themselves that the pain is not that bad.

Counting backward involved a higher level of concentration, and this intense concentration distracts the subject's attention from perceiving pain. 

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Enrico Schulz, a lead neuroscientist of the study, said that to process pain, the brain has to process that information between different regions of the brain, which is why distraction techniques can help relieve the pain. A woman in labor used the counting-backward-from-1,000-in-increments-of-seven technique and found it to make a notable difference.

Anne Stankewitz, a co-author of the new paper, said that the brain must work together with its different parts to reduce the level of pain perception. Her team plans to test whether their latest results can also be applied to those suffering from chronic pain.

Distraction Technique and Pain Reduction

Engaging in thoughts and activities so that you can consciously direct your thoughts to some information processing activity are effective strategies in controlling pain. There are numerous distraction techniques that people can utilize, keep in mind. However, that distraction technique does not mean that the pain no longer exists, just that it trains your brain to focus on something else.

Perception of Pain

When specific nerves called nociceptors detect tissue damage and sends a signal through the nerve fibers to the brain for interpretation, people will feel pain. Pain is subjective as the experience of pain varies between people who can make it challenging to treat. Individuals are capable of toning down the pain they experienced through a process known as pain modulation; it allows the body to exercise mind over matter in some situations.

Pain is not merely something that the brain conceives of, and the body feels; it's a complex mixture of our whole being. 

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