Even before injury, chronic back pain may start in the brain

It's infuriating to chronic pain sufferers to be told their pain in "all in the head." But a new study offers strong evidence that even before a person experiences an injury, the likelihood that the resulting pain will become chronic can be predicted by examining the brain's "white matter" -- the bundles of fatty fibers that carry electrical impulses between the brain's hemispheres and among its dense network of cells and structures.



via L.A. Times - Health http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/features/health/~3/vTVUdBiYGiY/la-sci-chronic-back-pain-brain-20130917,0,2071857.story