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Scientists have shown a new way to control pain through a study that promises to offer improved chronic pain management in the immediate future.

An international team of researchers have pointed to receptor in the brain which, when activated or switched on, blocks or even reverses pain.

Adenosine A3 receptor when activated with chemical stimulants, provides pain relief without inducing tolerance to the switching mechanism or making an individual dependent on chemical stimulant, The Independent reported.

"It has long been appreciated that harnessing the potent pain-killing effects of adenosine could provide a breakthrough step towards an effective treatment for chronic pain. Our findings suggest that this goal may be achieved by focusing future work on the A3AR pathway, in particular, as its activation provides robust pain reduction across several types of pain," said Daniela Salvemini, the Saint Louis University researcher who led the team.

Existing practises of pain management are associated with undesirable side-effects and often reduce quality of life. In their study, Salvemini and her team turned on the receptor in brain and spinal cords of rodents which led to improved pain control.

According to IB Times, the present research shows A3AR activation can control chronic neuropathic pain, which progresses slowly following damage of nerves, akin to pain caused by chemotherapy or bone cancer.

Additionally, pursuing A3AR activation studies is highly viable as A3AR agonists which can activate the receptor, have shown efficacy as anticancer and anti-inflammatory agents during clinical trials.

Referring such studies, Salvemini said in a press release, "These studies suggest that A3AR activation by highly selective small molecular weight A3AR agonists such as MRS5698 activates a pain-reducing pathway supporting the idea that we could develop A3AR agonists as possible new therapeutics to treat chronic pain."

The findings of the study have been published in the journal Brain.