Sensorimotor training: could the answer to back pain lie in reprogramming our brains?

Name: Chronic back pain.

Age: Elder, probably. I bet hunter-gatherers snatching berries and sleeping on cave floors suffered.

Remedy: Maybe brain-based?

< p class="dcr-xry7m2"> It better not be nonsense "pain is psychosomatic". Sorry, what did you say? I can't hear you there.

Wait, give me a minute to sit down. Phew. Ouch. Oh, are you one in six adults in the UK with back pain? This will interest you: a new Australian study suggests that brain training can bring real relief to sufferers.

It takes a brave scientist to suggest that back pain is in the 'spirit. They don't say that. But we have to explore new strategies, because (some) of the drugs don't work. Research reported in May claimed that two commonly prescribed anti-inflammatories for back pain, diclofenac and dexamethasone, may prolong the problem, perhaps by interfering with the body's natural healing processes.

< p class="dcr-xry7m2">They have to fight me for my Voltarol. You walk like an injured crab, so I don't think it would be too difficult. But the real point is that re-educating the way the brain and body communicate with each other seems to bring real relief to people with chronic conditions.

How does it work? The theory is that the body's brain map is 'stained', meaning that sufferers' pain systems become hypersensitive. Physiotherapists put people with long-term lower back pain through a 12-week "sensorimotor" rehabilitation program to address it.

Now what? They started by using exercises such as showing participants pictures and asking them to identify whether the people in them were turning left or right. Like magic, this activates the same neural pathways as the actual movement. Later, they moved on to exercises such as lunges and squats.

And it worked? It made! Participants in the sensorimotor program reported a decrease in pain on average from 5.6 to 3.1 on a scale of zero to 10. "People were happier, they said their backs felt better and their quality life was better. It also appears that these effects were maintained over the long term,” said Professor James McAuley of the University of New South Wales.

To what extent does this research robust? This was a small trial - 276 participants - but randomized controlled, so a control group received "dummy" treatments, like lasers.

Lasers! They look cool. They don't work. But the pain reported by the control group decreased slightly, from 5.8 to 4.0. Of course, the placebo effect is just more proof of how mysterious the brain-body connection is.

Say: "The Miracle of Brain Plasticity means I can practice feeling less back pain."

Don't say, "So soon I'll be fit to face anyone who says it's all in my head."