foodconsumer.org: Swearing helps relieve pain

Swearing helps relieve pain
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admin on 07/14/2009 01:25:00
 
By David Liu
An interesting study published in NeuroReport suggests that women in childbirth
have a reason to scream curse words at their husbands.
The study found students better relieved pain they experienced when sticking
their hands in buckets of icy water by repeating a curse word than a neutral
word.
Richard Stephens at Keele University's School of Psychology and colleagues
conducted the test to see if there is any difference in terms of pain relief
between saying a curse word and a neutral word.
The study of more than 60 undergraduates showed students repeating a curse word
could hold their hands in the icy water longer and felt lesser pain than
repeating the neutral word.
It is unknown why saying a curse word could help relieve pain.
Swearing does not have to be the only way to relieve pain.  Exercise is one good
alternative.
A study published in the Sept 2003 issue of Clinical Rehabilitation showed that
regular exercise or aerobic exercise three times a week helped women with
migraine better manage the pain they experienced.
Narin S. O and colleagues from Dokuz Eylul University in Izmire Turkey said that
regular long-term aerobic exercise reduced migraine pain severity, frequency and
duration possibly due to increased nitric oxide production.
It has been observed that physical activities like jogging or love-making can
reduce tooth pain.