POSITIVE thinking could provide vital relief to patients suffering from chronic pain conditions.

That is according to researchers at Reading University who found during a groundbreaking new study that pain can be reduced using the power of cognitive behavioural therapy.

The study, carried out by Dr Tim Salomons of the university’s School of Psychology and Clinical Languages, gave half the healthy volunteers five minutes of therapy before eight hour-long sessions where heat was applied to their arm to cause pain.

It found that the patients given therapy felt 38 per cent less pain than the other group who were not.

Dr Salomons believes the study is good news for chronic pain sufferers and says it could change the lives of the five million people who are diagnosed every year with conditions like lower back pain and fibromyalgia.

He said: “Chronic pain is a debilitating and common complaint.

“We know that pain feels more debilitating when it signals illness or injury compared to when we are undertaking an activity we feel is beneficial – we go through the pain barrier.

“However we didn’t know whether our beliefs simply changed the emotional response to pain or if the mind actually changed sensations that arise from the body – until now.”

The study is the first of its kind to indicate that this type of therapy can not only treat emotional pain but physical pain, as well as emotional responses to discomfort, such as the fear of an injection.

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a common treatment for mental health problems and encourages patients to re-evaluate negative thoughts.

While Dr Salomons stressed it is not a replacement for other forms of treatment, it could reduce the cost of chronic pain treatment on the NHS because patients can practise the techniques at home.

He said: “The CBT instruction was adapted almost entirely from a commonly available manual.

“At-home cognitive treatments, working in tandem with other treatments, could make a difference to NHS finances and waiting times as well improving the lives of chronic pain sufferers.”