Saying 'ow' improves pain tolerance
Participants who said ow' were able to leave their hand submerged in ice-cold water five seconds longer than those who didn't
A new study has discovered a way to alleviate pain by up to 20 per cent'simply by saying "ow. The study, published online in the American Pain Society's Journal of Pain, was undertaken by Ms Genevieve Swee during her final year at the NUS Department of Psychology in 2014.
"One day I kicked the chair and stubbed my toe…so naturally I just went ‘ow'…I wondered if that ‘ow' exclamation actually did anything for my pain experience. Did it lessen the pain? If not, why am I doing it? said Ms Swee, explaining how she decided to embark on the research for her Honours thesis.
Past studies have shown that vocalising pain is an automatic response that serves as a communication signal to others, such as to attract help, ward off an aggressor or declare defeat. "Ow is a sound that requires little articulatory control while maximising volume output and can thus be easily and effectively used when in pain. However, there was reason to believe that vocal expressions of pain serve additional non-communicative functions, such as helping to cope with discomfort.
Ms Swee, together with Associate Professor Annett Schirmer from the Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, decided to test the hypothesis through a series of cold pressor tests.
Fifty-five student participants were asked to immerse one hand into ice-cold water. They were then tested in five scenarios which included saying "ow; sitting passively; pressing a button; listening to a recording of them saying "ow; and listening to another person saying "ow.
Results found that participants who sat passively could keep their hand submerged for an average of 24 seconds. Saying "ow increased the duration by about five seconds and pressing a button, by about four seconds. Hearing the word "ow, whether from a pre-recorded voice of oneself or listening to another person, did not increase the time duration to keep their hand submerged.
The findings could have important applications in the medical field. "Based on our results, I think it would be useful for clinicians and health care professionals to talk to patients undergoing a painful procedure. By engaging them in speech, they would help their patients better tolerate the procedure, said Assoc Prof Schirmer.
More research is needed, however, to understand the underlying implications. One possible reason for the findings is that the mental processes associated with saying "ow compete with the mental processes resulting from the painful stimulus, thereby reducing one's awareness of pain.
Assoc Prof Schirmer (left) with alumna Ms Swee
