Simple illusion significantly reduces arthritic hand pain

By tricking the brains of 20 volunteers with an average age of 70 that had all been all clinically diagnosed with arthritic pain in the hands and/or fingers into believing that the painful part of the hand was being stretched or shrunk, researchers were able to halve the pain felt by 85 per cent.

To do so, they used the university’s unique MIRAGE technology, which captures a real-time video image of a hand and uses computer manipulations combined with physically pulling or pushing on the hand to fool the brain.

Remarkably, stretching or shrinking the painful part of the hand temporarily eliminated pain in one-third of all volunteers. Many volunteers also reported an increased range of movement.

Osteoarthritis is a debilitating and painful inflammatory condition that affects the joints and is one of the most common arthritic conditions. Around one million people consult their GPs about the condition every year — mostly people over the age of 50 who are more prone to developing the disease.