The Pain Of Torture Lasts Forever
Barbed Wire Adrian Scottow via Flickr The pain inflicted during torture can last far beyond the actual event. Aside from the psychological ramifications, torture can cause long-term changes to the way your body perceives and regulates pain, says a recent study from Tel Aviv University. The researchers asked a total of 104 men to undergo a variety of procedures to test their pain tolerance, like putting their arms in hot water. All of the men had been Israeli soldiers in combat during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War (the Yom Kippur War), and 60 had been severely tortured as prisoners of war held in Egypt or Syria. Compared to the men who had fought in the war but not experienced torture, the former POWs reported more intense and prolonged feelings of chronic pain. They also showed greater levels of wind-up pain—when an...