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Discovery: The Anatomy of Pain: Controlling Pain

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Controlling Pain

05/02/2018 GMT

The Anatomy of Pain

BBC World Service - Discovery, The Anatomy of Pain, Controlling PainSearch BBC

How do brains control pain? Irene Tracey asks can we distance ourselves from agony

How do brains control pain? Irene Tracey asks can we distance ourselves from agony. Children learning judo, marathon runners and soldiers in battle all learn how to deal with pain.

What if your brain could naturally control pain? Professor Irene Tracey and her colleagues are trying to unlock the natural mechanisms in the brain that limit the amount of pain we feel.

We hear about how children learning judo are taught special techniques and from  ex-marine Chris Shirley who  ran a marathon carrying a 45kg rucksack and could ignore the pain of the blisters and torn shoulder muscles.
 
One study found that religious people feel less pain than agnostics by looking at a picture of the Virgin Mary. Neuroscientists and psychologists are beginning to understand how this is possible, how the brain can block out pain in the right circumstances, so is this something we could all benefit from? 

Picture: The statue of the Virgin Mary, Credit: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images

Producer Geraldine Fitzgerald

Discovery: The Anatomy of Pain

The 'Queen of Pain', Professor Irene Tracey, examines cutting edge research into how and why we feel different types of pain.

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