Simply crossing your hands confuses your brain and distracts it from any pain being administered, a study suggests. Dr Iannetti believes that the effect was caused by the brain being confused.

"In everyday life you mostly use your left hand to touch things on the left side of the world, and your right hand for the right side of the world – for example when picking up a glass of water on your right side you generally use your right hand," he said.
- "Crossing your hands causes a mismatch and this makes the processing of pain more difficult.
- "It works for other stimuli. The sensitivity of the brain is reduced. It is not a huge analgesic but we are testing it on people with chronic pain in their hands."