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thermal grill illusion, TGI
Acute peripheral pain which is reduced by multisensory interactions at the spinal and brain levels.

British scientists have discovered that people experience far less pain when they touch a sore part of their body with their hand; so, a gentle rub may very well help pain go away, or at least decrease.

  • The researchers investigated what is called the "thermal grill illusion" or TGI, where participants placed their index and ring fingers in warm water and the middle finger in cold water.
  • With the TGI, or thermal grill illusion, the brain perceives the cool water as painfully hot.
  • The study looked at heat perception after participants submerged their fingers in water of different temperatures and pressed their fingertips together in different combinations.
  • This allowed scientists to study the experience of pain without actually causing any injury to those who participated in the studies.
  • The scientists involved concluded that touching an apparently painful part of the body will affect the way pain signals travel to the brain.
  • While touch may help an individual to cope with pain to some degree, perhaps by easing very mild pain from a minor injury, it is unlikely to completely eliminate the experience of pain.
  • Pain is a very subjective experience, and many factors, including psychological and emotional factors, affect the way it is experienced.
—Compiled from several sources especially the
National Health Service, NHS, in Great Britain; on September 24 2010.
a comprehensive public-health service under government administration.