You don’t need to be a scientist to know that chronic back pain can have a negative impact on your life, often bringing with it anxiety and depression. It can affect your ability to work, sleep, and perform other daily activities.

Until recently, it has been assumed that whatever changes occurred in the brain as a result of chronic back pain were only temporary and that the brain would revert to a normal state once the pain stopped.

Recent findings by researchers from Northwestern University have turned this assumption on its head. What they found was that chronic back pain — defined as pain lasting six months or longer — can cause significant and long-lasting damage to the brain, aging it up to 20 times faster than normal.¹

The Northwestern study is consistent with other research on chronic pain and cognitive ability.

Evidence of a link between chronic pain and brain function comes from a study done at Keele University in the United Kingdom. Scientists compared the “prospective” memory — such as remembering to pick up groceries or keep a doctor’s appointment — of 50 subjects with chronic back pain to the memory of 50 subjects who were pain-free.

Investigators used something called the Prospective Memory Questionnaire, a self-rating scale that requires users to record the number of times their prospective memory fails in a given period of time. The scale measures three types of prospective memory: long-term habitual, short-term episodic, and internally cued.

Those with chronic pain had significantly impaired short-term memory compared with subjects who were pain-free. No differences were observed in the other types of prospective memory.

Researchers believe that when pain kicks in, it triggers a region of the brain known as the lateral occipital complex (LOC). When this happens, it overrides a person’s ability to concentrate and accurately recognize images.

You can help preserve your short-term memory — even if you do live with chronic pain — by following these easy tips.

Read out loud

If you want to remember something, saying the words out loud will help burn the information into your brain. If you can turn it into a rhyme, it’s even better.

Write things down

Mental clutter makes it hard to recall data. Use address books, datebooks, and calendars. Jot down notes on more complicated material and reorganize your notes as soon as possible. The physical act of rewriting can help imprint facts into your memory.

Rehearse and review

Go over what you’ve learned the day you learn it, and review it periodically. Researchers call this “spaced rehearsal.” It has proven to be more effective than cramming.

Get your vitamins

Nutrients such as vitamins B, C, and E can nurture brain function. Dietary sources of vitamin B include spinach and other dark leafy greens, strawberries, melons, and black beans. Vitamins C and E improve the flow of oxygen through the brain. Good natural sources are berries, sweet potatoes, red tomatoes, green tea, nuts, citrus fruits, and liver. Omega-3 fatty acids found in cold-water fish such as salmon and tuna are also associated with improved cognitive function.

Surprise your brain

Another way to help your brain perform better is to stimulate it through novelty. For example, brushing your teeth with your left hand (if you’re right-handed) will fire up seldom-used connections on the non-dominant side of your brain. Or try “neurobic” exercise, which forces you to use your faculties in unusual ways — say, getting dressed with your eyes closed, taking a course in a subject you know nothing about, or cooking a recipe in an unfamiliar cuisine.

Reference

1. The Journal of Neuroscience, November 17, 2004; 24(46):10410-10415.

[Ed. Note: Jesse Cannone is a certified fitness trainer, rehabilitation specialist and co-founder of the Healthy Back Institute. For more information on how you can reduce or completely eliminate your pain naturally, click here.]

This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise’s Total Health Breakthroughs which offers alternative health solutions for mind, body and soul.