Experts from Federal Science Clinicoexperimental Centre of Traditional Diagnosing And Treating Techniques (FSCC TDTT), which is the part of Russian Ministry of Public Health, and from Science Centre for Mental Health have developed and patented a technique, which uses colour test for diagnostics of pain intensity and location.
      
      Pain is one of important diagnostic properties of a disease, but it’s hard to measure and estimate it. Patients` reactions on pain are different. People often are unable to understand which part of their body is aching. Pain attacks may be provoked or intensified by excitement, extreme emotional disturbance, fear or depression. Some patients often underestimate their situation; others tend to exaggerate it. All this makes doctors’ work difficult. In order to avoid such difficulties, Russian psychologists suggested using colour test for pain diagnostics. They showed that patients choose colours according to the source and intensity of their pain.
      
      Several groups of patients have taken part in the experiment. First group consisted of people with phantom pains, second one comprised those suffering of headaches, muscle and joint pains or postoperative pains. Patients with psychogenic syndrome, when pains are caused by mental disorders, were in the third group, and children with acute pains – in the forth. Large group of healthy people also has taken part in the experiment.
      
      All testees should have chosen from the given list those pain definitions, which fitted their situation (e.g. “dragging”, “pressing” or “annoying”, etc.), then they should have rated their pain using 6-point scale and leaving two colours out of eight. One colour went for patient’s pain intensity during the attack, another – for normal “painless” situation.
      
      Patients with phantom and acute pains appeared to react on pain similarly to healthy people. They associate very strong or unbearable pain with black, strong and medium pain with grey, red or brown, and the lack of pain for them is yellow or green. Patients with psychogenic pains have chosen other colours. Strong, very strong and unbearable pain for them is “painted” yellow, red or violet, medium pain is red, yellow or green, and, finally, when they do not feel pain, they choose grey and green colours.
      
      Scientists explain such perception characteristics with patients’ different attitude towards their pain. Most people regard pain as a disturbance in their normal life, which should be removed, thus they “paint” their sufferings “negative” black, grey and red colours, and normal “painless” situation – “positive” yellow and green colours. As for patients with psychogenic pain syndrome, their attitude towards their pain is controversial. They, of course, suffer, but their disease is somewhat hiding from problems of everyday life. Such combination of positive and negative attitude to life is reflected in colours, they tend to choose: when they feel pain, they prefer yellow, red or violet, and when they don’t – grey is the most popular colour.
      
      Scientists think that these phenomena are essential for pain rapid assessments and can be applied both in medical and psychological practice and in science and research.
      
      Journal of Psychology, 2005, vol.26, #3 "Pain And Colour" viaElements.ru