Cross your fingers and swear: weird ways to end pain

scientists have discovered that crossing your fingers isn’t just for good luck, but can help alleviate pain. A UCL study published in the science journal Current Biology found that feelings of a pain in the finger disappeared when one digit was crossed over another, suggesting that the simple action can confuse the way the brain processes sensation. Just as optical illusions can trick the mind into misreading an image, there are various techniques that create sensory illusions and help reduce perceptions of pain. Here are a few other surprising methods to end pain.Swear Bad language is a remarkably good at easing pain, according to a study published in the journal NeuroReport. Researchers tested how long college students could keep their hands immersed in cold water, with some students repeating a neutral word and others repeatedly swearing. The volunteers reported less pain while swearing and kept their hand submerged for an average 40 seconds longer. "Swearing is such a common response to pain that there has to be an underlying reason why we do it," says psychologist Richard Stephens of Keele University, who led the study. "I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear.”-READ MORE-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/11499187/Cross-your-fingers-and-swear-weird-ways-to-end-pain.html