[msnower]

Those seem to back up this quote by the doctor from the article: "What’s going on in the patient’s [mind] is that the rituals of medicine... activates specific quantifiable and relevant brain regions that release these neurotransmitters. And they modulate symptoms."

For minor ailments for which there are no real cure (and are probably entirely psychological) building a new habit covers up the old one and subsequently cures the patient's pain.