Pet therapy?

[Genady]

I woke up with a dull headache today. Coffee didn't affect it, paracetamol too. Neither breakfast nor pool. Later, I pet my dog for 10 minutes, and the headache gone. Just like that.

Coincidence or a known effect?

[mistermack]

34 minutes ago, Genady said:

Coincidence or a known effect?

Definitely a known effect. Ask any Homeopath. 

Headaches do  go. That's a known effect. And if you took an aspirin, or petted a dog, or drank some incredibly dilute water, or your mother stroked your head, you will believe that there's a link for the rest of your life. 

Maybe when we were evolving, making that kind of connection did actually help sometimes. There was no modern medicine, and becoming attached to some herb or other that worked might help with your survival. So the tendency could linger due to that. 

[Peterkin]

57 minutes ago, Genady said:

Coincidence or a known effect?

A very well known and established effect. https://tpoc.ca/

Cats and dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and horses are used to help patients with a range of physical and emotional problems. The soothing rhythm of petting a cat or bunny tends to reduce stress, slow hear-rate, lower blood pressure and cure headaches.

I knew a cat, way back in the 1970's that was taken on regular visits to a nursing home, cheering and comforting the residents. I have more recently known an Irish wolfhound who helped people with long recovery/rehabilitation after traumatic injuries. Physiotherapy can be painful and tiring; patients, especially children, get fed up with the exercises. While they could lean the big dog, they didn't mind the effort. Grooming a horse has the same effect: you're less aware that it's exercise.

Also prison programs https://sites.bu.edu/daniellerousseau/2018/08/15/prison-dog-training-programs-rehabilitate-canines-and-cons/

It's not just rewarding, but therapeutic for humans to interact with other species.

Edited August 9, 2023 by Peterkin

[CharonY]

45 minutes ago, Genady said:

I woke up with a dull headache today. Coffee didn't affect it, paracetamol too. Neither breakfast nor pool. Later, I pet my dog for 10 minutes, and the headache gone. Just like that.

Coincidence or a known effect?

I think studies on pet ownership have largely failed to replicate direct health benefits as such. Though there are improvement in things like mood and there may be indirect effects that provide benefits (e.g. creating routine, or taking regular walks). One group where pet does seem to have an reproducible effect is specifically among recovering elderly.

[StringJunky]

It's often a psychosomatic effect from some mental conflict imo. The other activities weren't a sufficient committed distraction to take your mind off the ultimately nebulous pain. I tested myself with a yellow Smartie once, after telling myself repeatedly  it was a super-duper analgesic, and it worked a treat. 

[Genady]

Thank you all for the opinions and information. My personal feelings in this case are that the headache was ready to go by that time and any distracting activity that didn't work earlier would have worked then. It happened to be petting the dog.

[Ayass Researc]

 

It is possible that petting your dog helped to relieve your headache. There is some evidence to suggest that petting a dog can help to reduce stress and anxiety, which are common triggers for headaches. Additionally, the physical touch of petting can release endorphins, which have pain-relieving properties.