4 ms·

I have chronic back pain. So far, several doctors agree that the symptoms are there, but none of them have been able to identify the cause. Pain and the mobilit

by mkl95 5y ago

I have chronic back pain. So far, several doctors agree that the symptoms are there, but none of them have been able to identify the cause. Pain and the mobility issues that come with it sometimes disappear briefly, for an hour or so. I know it sounds crazy, but sometimes I can make the pain go away by focusing on it. None of it seems to make sense.

gameswithgo 5y ago
andai 5y ago
Maybe it's like a messaging system. When you read the message, the notification goes away.
- babyshake 5y ago
  Pain usually doesn't work this way. It's relatively stateless, as in as long as there is a problem in a part of your body you'll feel pain associated with it, and it's not like the pain goes away once you ack it.
wise0wl 5y ago
This is not surprising. Pretty much anything that we experience subjectively can be affected by willful projection of our mental intention. Placebo effect is another name for this phenomenon. Meditative states and specific focus in those meditative states can cause cessation of pain, states of euphoria, tingling, out-of-body sensations, etc.
- garciasn 5y ago
  I have intermittent (usually bi-annually) severe back pain stemming from what has been determined by MRI as a congenital/hereditary narrowing of the spine that causes muscle spasms and long-lasting pain. I'm currently in one of my bi-annual cycles and this one is particularly nasty. 800mg ibuprofen + 1500mg of acetaminophen + 10mg cyclobenzaprine every four hours was doing absolutely nothing for the symptoms. I ended up trying every other remedy under the sun including epsom salt baths, Tiger Balm, etc., for relief. What worked? CBD balm. I don't believe in anything that can be attributed to the placebo effect and that's what I consider remedies like CBD balm. But, it worked and I am going to run w/it. I wish it were easier than me having to fork over $30 for snake oil to trick my body into a positive response but here we are.
strogonoff 5y ago
Medicine systematically underestimates the ambiguity and complexity of the relationship between our minds and our bodies. Tangentially and more generally, it seems to completely ignore that the hard problem of consciousness is unsolved and the mainstream idea of causality pointing from material world to consciousness—X is wrong with your body, hence neurons fire, hence you feel pain—is essentially an unprovable conjecture. When it somehow works, it is very good at creating an impression that we know what we are doing, but it strikes me at being more or less in shambles at some fundamental level.

by mkl95 5y ago

gameswithgo 5y ago

andai 5y ago

Maybe it's like a messaging system. When you read the message, the notification goes away.

babyshake 5y ago
Pain usually doesn't work this way. It's relatively stateless, as in as long as there is a problem in a part of your body you'll feel pain associated with it, and it's not like the pain goes away once you ack it.

wise0wl 5y ago

This is not surprising. Pretty much anything that we experience subjectively can be affected by willful projection of our mental intention. Placebo effect is another name for this phenomenon. Meditative states and specific focus in those meditative states can cause cessation of pain, states of euphoria, tingling, out-of-body sensations, etc.

garciasn 5y ago
I have intermittent (usually bi-annually) severe back pain stemming from what has been determined by MRI as a congenital/hereditary narrowing of the spine that causes muscle spasms and long-lasting pain. I'm currently in one of my bi-annual cycles and this one is particularly nasty. 800mg ibuprofen + 1500mg of acetaminophen + 10mg cyclobenzaprine every four hours was doing absolutely nothing for the symptoms. I ended up trying every other remedy under the sun including epsom salt baths, Tiger Balm, etc., for relief. What worked? CBD balm. I don't believe in anything that can be attributed to the placebo effect and that's what I consider remedies like CBD balm. But, it worked and I am going to run w/it. I wish it were easier than me having to fork over $30 for snake oil to trick my body into a positive response but here we are.

strogonoff 5y ago

Medicine systematically underestimates the ambiguity and complexity of the relationship between our minds and our bodies. Tangentially and more generally, it seems to completely ignore that the hard problem of consciousness is unsolved and the mainstream idea of causality pointing from material world to consciousness—X is wrong with your body, hence neurons fire, hence you feel pain—is essentially an unprovable conjecture. When it somehow works, it is very good at creating an impression that we know what we are doing, but it strikes me at being more or less in shambles at some fundamental level.