Talk out your back pain?

If you suffer from chronic backaches, cognitive behavior therapy -- the talk therapy that helps change thoughts and behavior -- may be what finally helps you feel better, says a new analysis of 22 studies in the journal Health Psychology.

The problem with this: Most people will have the same reaction as my father. He almost fell off his chair when I suggested that he go TALK to someone about his back pain. The claim though, is that cognitive behavior therapy targets how you think about your pain, so you develop a sense of control and recognize what activities or stressors aggravate your problem.

Also on the list of helpful strategies: Biofeedback, hypnosis and self-relaxation training. These techniques help relieve muscle tension, so you feel your pain less.

What do you think -- can you talk out your back pain (or any pain for that matter?) Psychologically, they may have a point (we've all had times when we've pushed ourselves through something when needed), but I still have reservations that simply talking to a therapist could reverse any chronic ache or pain.