The evolutionary psychology of healing: a human success story

PainSci notes on Humphrey 2012:

Humphrey and Skoyles proposes an evolutionary explanation for the placebo paradox: even though it might be possible in theory, in practice our brains dare not routinely invoke powerful recovery mechanisms because they have costs that often outweigh the benefits. Here’s some excellent extra reading from Todd Hargrove, who did a nice job interpreting and explaining this idea. The additional perspective is most welcome.

related content

• Why does the placebo effect work? on YouTube.com.

Specifically regarding Humphrey 2012:

• bettermovement.org/…

This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:

• Relationships Between Sleep Quality and Pain-Related Factors for People with Chronic Low Back Pain: Tests of Reciprocal and Time of Day Effects. Gerhart 2017 Ann Behav Med.
• Modulation in the elastic properties of gastrocnemius muscle heads in individuals with plantar fasciitis and its relationship with pain. Zhou 2020 Sci Rep.
• Association Between Plantar Fasciitis and Isolated Gastrocnemius Tightness. Nakale 2018 Foot Ankle Int.
• No Added Benefit of Combining Dry Needling With Guideline-Based Physical Therapy When Managing Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Stieven 2020 J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.
• Effectiveness of customised foot orthoses for Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial. Munteanu 2015 Br J Sports Med.