Chronic Pain is Literally Distracting

Chronic pain affects a person's ability to work, sleep pattern, and ability to perform essential daily activities. Researchers at the University of Alberta have confirmed that chronic pain can impair your memory and your ability to concentrate too. Two-thirds of study participants with chronic pain demonstrated significant disruption of attention and memory when they were tested.

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In a study of 24 patients, researchers concluded that pain may disrupt the maintenance of the memory trace required to hold information for processing and retain it for storage in long-term memory stores. The study which was published in the May 2007 issue of the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, found that chronic pain drives people to distraction - literally.

All of the study participants had pain for six month or longer. Study participants were given computerized tests of working memory along with a neuropsychological test of attention before and after procedures to reduce pain. Sixteen of the 24 participants with chronic pain, or 67 percent, had scores in the clinically impaired range on tasks requiring attention. Participants with the highest level of impairment had significantly greater difficulties in maintaining a memory trace during a test of working memory. If you suffer with chronic pain, and you experience what is often referred to as "brain fog", it is likely more than a mere coincidence. This small but significant study confirms it.

More Related Resources:

• Excerpt: The Types of Pain
• Pain Management Techniques
• The Pain Quiz: Acute vs. Chronic Pain
• Why Does Pain Tolerance or Pain Perception Vary?

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