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Chronic pain can be alleviated through increased activity, say scientists at the University of Perth in Australia and the University Hospital at Strasbourg in France. People who suffer chronic pain can achieve a feeling of control over their lives through active physiotherapy, which can reverse damage to the central nervous system. The scientists say in Physiopraxis magazine that regular exercise and activities tailored to the patient improve not only the body's general condition, but also improve posture and minimize pain and other impediments to everyday movement. People's perception of chronic pain can vary greatly over time - an example of this is when the level of pain a patient feels changes even when the degrees of strain or pressure are the same, or when pain results even from an insignificant sensation.  Pain is normally transmitted to the brain through the spinal cord from individual points on the body. The brain perceives these sensations and processes them, the researchers say, but the intensity increases in cases of prolonged aggravation, to the point of the patient feeling discomfort even from slight movement. If such a condition persists for months, the processing of the pain signals in the brain and the spinal cord can change. Pain-minimizing mechanisms are switched off, while substances that allow pain to increase are released. From that time on, the pain itself becomes a stand-alone illness of the central nervous system. 2009-05-23
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