UM & wellbeing

Pain is not comfortable and it signals possible damage to the body. It is therefore logical that people with acute pain avoid painful movements. Movements that resemble painful movements are also usually avoided. However, it becomes problematic the moment people also avoid movements that are totally unrelated to pain. In his PhD research, Kristof Vandael investigated factors to inhibit the spread of avoidance in order to optimise therapy for chronic pain.  

Remember the last time you were wrong? And I don’t mean slightly off-target but very, very wrong. Everything looked crisp, clear. It just made sense. There was no doubt, so you went all in. Then the shock. Reality sank in. Slowly at first. Gradually there was more nuance. Gray shades were all over the place. Finally what had been so obviously true, was not there after all.

Acute pain is an important protective mechanism in our bodies. It is a signal that alerts us to (potential) damage or illness. However, when acute pain turns into chronic pain, this useful function is lost and the pain actually only has adverse effects. Every day, more than 2 million people in the Netherlands struggle with chronic pain. Can anything be done about this? That is what PhD candidate Astrid Meesters researched at Maastricht University. 

Your local city park may be improving your health, according to a new paper led by Stanford University researchers in collaboration with Bram Oosterbroek from the Maastricht Sustainability Institute.

Are you between 12 and 25 years old and having trouble dealing with something? Heartbreak, problems with school or university, loneliness or depression? Whatever it is, @ease provides free and accessible psychological support. 

Maastricht University meets the WELL Building Standard with its Tapijn location, also known as the former military barracks. It is the first time that a European university building has achieved this high standard.