Got Back Pain?

In the Journal of Neuroscience, November, 2004, researchers at Northwestern University, concluded that sufferers of chronic back pain had brains that aged 20 times that of normal healthy folks.

They went further and reported that the brains of those with chronic back pain had as much as 11% brain shrinkage. It is gray matter that is lost, which is responsible for information processing (I.Q), and memory.

The leading researcher, A. Vania Apkanian, said the average healthy person loses 0.5% of gray matter annually, but having sciatica, chronic back pain, produces 10 to 20 years of normal aging. The longer one suffers from chronic back pain (years), larger the brain loss. Yes, really.

The reason for brain shrinkage appears to be the almost permanent state of a negative mood and attitude, and the stress associated with it. Apkanian believes brain shrinkage (loss of gray matter), is a result of nerve cells in a constant state of activity they are overworked to the extreme.

He concludes, that the longer the back pain persists, the greater its irreversibility because the brain structures and functions change permanently.

What is New?

In 2006, Dr. Sean Mackey, Stanford University, reported a different approach in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dealing with chronic back pain, his research indicates that patients looking at their own live brain scans can learn to control pain activation.

There are two brain systems involved in pain - pain perception and pain modulation. Wait there is no single pain center, but 5-10 areas that transmit pain feedback.

Here is the killer conclusion of Dr. Mackey, top-gun at Stanford Medical School:

Pain modulation (change, alteration), is triggered by BELIEF. A placebo (sugar pill or an injection of plain water), can shut down the pain, while a nocibo (belief in harm), will augment the pain, when your brain is convinced you are being hurt.

How Come?

The brain releases its endogenous (originating from within), endorphins (pleasure hormones), an opiate-like substance.

The reason a placebo works is the brain releases a chemical that attaches to our Mu Opioid Receptors. Get this fake opiates cause the brain to produce its own real ones in response. It is the bandwagon effect.

Does Believing in Change Cause Change in Reality?

The answer is yes, with practice, as the mind unites with the body.

It appears to be a brain thing called the power of suggestion. The same one used in hypnosis and auto-suggestion, where you convince yourself.

A physician telling a group of patients in an experiment, that the pain they were feeling would positively be relieved by their (placebo) medication, resulted in 99% effectiveness. We believe in the authority and his/her expertise. It sounds weird, but our belief changes our state-of-mind, which in turn alters our body receptors.

Hold it! Thinking about pain produces physical changes in our - pain, no-pain - perception. It is visible on the fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery), and is not a schizophrenic episode.

They have zeroed in on the area that produces human awareness of our mind-numbing pain it is called - rostral Anterior Cingulate Cotex (rACC). We can see it in action, in living color, on the fMRI, and see it modulated by our Prefrontal Cortex, the brain area that makes decisions.

The scientists do not claim they know why cognitive effort can reduce the activation of the rACC, it just does. Thinking too deeply about the why, delivers us to the realm of Huh? We are rational creatures motivated by emotion, let us not go any further.

Soft Wired

You have heard that our genes make us hard-wired, we come to life preprogrammed to a substantial degree.

Another reality is that our brain is Soft-Wired, (plastic), so that we can learn. When we learn it is followed by structural and functional changes in our brain. Practice, according to the experts, can reduce pain an average of 64%, no mean trick.

One more once what you believe and expect, creates your reality. It does not alter the world, only your world. Another thing we do not know a whit about the source of consciousness. It is not neurons firing, but depends on our neurons that are wired together, to fire together.

Endwords

It is intuitive that having a positive attitude is better than holding a belief that you will fail. We are at the next threshold of reason what you actively believe, mentally visualize and expect come to pass in your brain, and perhaps in your motivations and behaviors.

Professor William James, 1890, at Harvard, created the Law of As-If. Whatever your mind consistently thinks and feels drives your brain to discover and bring to pass. If you Act, Think, Feel and Believe AS-IF you have already obtain the goal you are chasing it is a direction to both hemispheres of your brain to attract it.

The latest research states that folks with chronic back pain have annual brain shrinkage of an extra 1.3%. That is far too much. We have over 100 billion brain cells, so it is not an immediate ticket to Alzheimers, but it does you no good.

Here is the core of it meditation, hypnosis, distractions, mental visualizations, and placebos all offer a method to train the brain to obey our prefrontal cortex our active consciousness. It works for me personally, to reduce pain, and enhance healing.

It is your assignment to check it out. The Indian charkas are real, seven subtle areas of energy that can be manipulated by acupressure and acupuncture to help you heal faster, and reduce pain. My personal favorite is daily chanting Uh-(as in Accountant, OO (as in Book), and Mng as in Mee-ing (Uh-OO-Mng) for 20 minutes twice a day. Google Mudras (hand gestures), too

Now I know that you are far too busy to find a total of forty minutes daily to maintain your health, reduce if not eliminate pain, and actively live to age 90.

Deal-Or-No-Deal?

See ya,

copyright
H. Bernard Wechsler
www.speedlearning.org
hbw@speedlearning.org

Author of Speed Reading For Professionals, published by Barron's Educational, original partner of Evelyn Wood, creator of speed reading, graduating 2 million, including the White House staff of four U.S. Presidents.

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Cyprus Golf And Property The Perfect Combination

If you love golf and long for a home in the sun the beautiful Island Cyprus could be the answer to your dreams. With over 320 days of warm Mediterranean sunshine every single year Cyprus is a golfers paradise and astute investors are catching on fast. The downside of course (there always has to be one) is that prices continue to rise and look set to do so for the foreseeable future. So anyone wishing to get onto the Cyprus golf property ladder should seriously consider making a move soon before prices become inaccessible to the average holiday property buyer just as they have in other parts of Europe such as Spain.

Cyprus already boast several superb golf courses that are located around the Paphos area which in essence has become the golfing capital of the Island. It is perhaps no coincidence that some of the top hotels are also close to the golfing area which also adds to the value of property within the area also. As with any expensive belt of property there is a "rippling" effect radiating out to other locations close by such as the smaller resorts and villages in the area so just about any house or apartment within a short drive of the golf will be affected. The good news for prospective buyers is that there is still a plentiful supply of new development going on close to Paphos and the golf to meet the increasing demand.

As already stated, prices of any property near golfing facilities will be high but if you know just where to look there are still many Cyprus golf property bargains to be found. A short drive inland will often turn up some beautiful new developments offering apartments and villas well below the values of property closer to the coast or resort areas. One of the problems faced by first time holiday property purchasers is their unfamiliarity with the local area and where properties are is in relation to infrastructure like airports or motor way links. There is however a great way to overcome this problem.

Many of the larger Cyprus property companies are offering subsidized inspection trips of around four days including accommodation flights and all your transport. The prospective Cyprus golf property purchaser will be collected from the airport, taken to the hotel and driven around Cyprus to view property whilst gaining an idea of the lay of the land. These Cyprus property specialist will also spend time with you in the evening over dinner or drinks to discuss your requirements and answer any questions you may have about anything to do with home ownership on the Island. They will also have access to all the other professional services you may need such as English speaking solicitors, property developers and letting agents too.

There is no doubt that Cyprus will continue to offer an attractive option for anyone seeking a home in the sun either for themselves or as an investment for the future. Mixed with all that Cyprus has to offer in terms of climate and lifestyle golf will for many be the icing on the cake. The luck buyers who have been able to mix golf with a holiday home purchase have already seen some excellent returns on investment from the booming holiday rental market. In renting their properties out whilst they are not in use by themselves or their families they have compounded their return not just in increased equity but also generated extra income too. maybe it's time for you to live your dreams too and find yourself a beautiful Cyprus golf property.

Kevin Moore spends half the year in Cyprus writing articles about this beautiful Mediterranean Island and maintaining is many Cyprus web sites. Take a look at Cyprus Golf Property

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