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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.

When you start with the bathroom plumbing, you need to consider a few things. The plumbing has to meet the needs of a busy bathroom as well as installing the bathroom plumbing correctly. By accomplishing these two steps, you will ensure that you have less repair of the plumbing in the future.

You will need the correct fittings, sizes of pipes and lengths that fit the toilet, sink, tub and shower. Also included in the bathroom plumbing, you need to make sure the hot water heater is correctly installed and the size of the unit is big enough to fill the needs of your family. No one wants to run out of hot water when taking a shower early in the morning.

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When installing your plumbing, you need to keep in mind that everything has to be fitted and tight. This includes using plumbers tale, which many beginners forget. This down the line might result in loosening fittings as well as water leakage, which can damage the floor. When in doubt, call your local plumber. pipes that are behind walls and under floors need special consideration, if you have just one leak, damage will result and you will never see the problem until it is too late.

Things you will need to install your bathroom plumbing:

Plumbers tape
Pipe wrenches
Correct pipes
Correct fittings

As you can see, you do not need many tools, but you do need the correct fittings and pipes. If you have a doubt about length of pipe you need, measure the distance from the given area to the area by the sewage pipe and you should have no problems installing your plumbing. When you plan to remodel the bathroom or upgrade the plumbing, you need to understand where the shut off valves need to be as well. If you ever have a problem, the shut off value is important for stopping water from flowing to the fixture in question. Therefore, get your materials together and do some plumbing, but do it the right way.

You can also find more information at Plumber Contractor and Plumbing Repair.

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