Musing on “ the social ” in pain rehabilitation
What do we think about when we consider “the social” as a factor in pain rehabilitation? Do we think of socioeconomic status? Maybe employment status? Perhaps societal attitudes towards pain and recovery? Do we ask if the person has someone they trust in their life? Maybe we even discuss how a relationship is going, whether the person sees their friends and family?
Have we forgotten that possibly the most potent influences on pain behaviour are the people around the person we’re seeing?
It will be no surprise to anyone reading my work over the past 10 or more years (yes, really! it HAS been that lon...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - January 17, 2021 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Coping strategies Education Interdisciplinary teams Professional topics Research Science in practice family partners social spouses Source Type: blogs
Spinal Cord Stimulators Manage Pain without Tingling
Boston Scientific is releasing in the United States its Wavewriter Alpha line of spinal cord stimulators. The four Wavewriter Alpha pain management devices provide Bluetooth connectivity, allow patients to still be scanned under MRI, given certain precautions, and offer so-called Fast Acting Sub-perception Therapy (FAST).
FAST is exciting because it provides near immediate pain relief without causing paresthesia, a tingling sensations that patients commonly report when utilizing spinal cord stimulators. Paresthesia-free stimulation therapies are already in existence, but they take a few days or even weeks to finally st...
Source: Medgadget - January 15, 2021 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Medgadget Editors Tags: Neurology Neurosurgery Orthopedic Surgery Pain Management bostonscientific paresthesia Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, January 11th 2021
This study demonstrates the potential of a natural (o-Vanillin) and a synthetic (RG-7112) senolytic compounds to remove senescent IVD cells, decrease SASP factors release, reduce the inflammatory environment and enhance the IVD matrix production. Removal of senescent cells, using senolytics drugs, could lead to improved therapeutic interventions and ultimately decrease pain and a provide a better quality of life of patients living with intervertebral disc degeneration and low back pain.
From Ying Ann Chiao of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation: Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in aging and cardiovasc...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 10, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
Event Report: Aging, Geroscience and Longevity Symposium
This study demonstrates the potential of a natural (o-Vanillin) and a synthetic (RG-7112) senolytic compounds to remove senescent IVD cells, decrease SASP factors release, reduce the inflammatory environment and enhance the IVD matrix production. Removal of senescent cells, using senolytics drugs, could lead to improved therapeutic interventions and ultimately decrease pain and a provide a better quality of life of patients living with intervertebral disc degeneration and low back pain.
From Ying Ann Chiao of Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation: Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a central role in aging and cardiovasc...
Source: Fight Aging! - January 8, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
What to do about acute low back pain
I should add another line to that heading: in one easy step! And I’d be inundated with hits and if I could cash in on them I’d be rich! And wrong.
If there was a simple recipe for success, I’d expect that by now we’d have it. The very fact that SO MANY options for managing a bout of low back pain exist is a good reason for skepticism should you ever get tempted to take a headline like mine as a cause for celebration. However I do want to talk about acute low back pain because I think clinicians are often probably doing it wrong.
First of all, low back pain doesn’t include pain that also ...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - December 6, 2020 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Back pain Low back pain Pain conditions Research Resilience Resilience/Health Science in practice acute low back pain back to basics pain trajectories Source Type: blogs
Bias: Is pain all the same?
The topic of how we define pain, and how humans respond to pain has come up for me as I mull over the IASP definition of pain. The current (new) definition is this:
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage.
Six key notes:
Pain is always a personal experience that is influenced to varying degrees by biological, psychological, and social factors.Pain and nociception are different phenomena. Pain cannot be inferred solely from activity in sensory neurons.Through their life experiences, individuals learn the concept of pain.A...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - November 29, 2020 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Education Education/CME Pain conditions acute pain function IASP definition maldynia metaphor pain definition persistent pain purpose Source Type: blogs
5 questions to ask before you have back surgery
Back pain is one of the most common reasons people see their physician and one of the most common causes of missed days at work. Approximately 60% to 80% of adults experience low back pain during their lives, and for 10% of them, the pain lasts for more than three months. And although nearly 500,000 […]Find jobs at Careers by KevinMD.com. Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now. Learn more. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - November 14, 2020 Category: General Medicine Authors: < span itemprop="author" > < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/miles-j-varn" rel="tag" > Miles J. Varn, MD < /a > < /span > Tags: Conditions Orthopedics Source Type: blogs
The FDA clears AppliedVR headset to help treat fibromyalgia and chronic pain
Conclusions: High engagement and satisfaction combined with low levels of adverse effects support the feasibility and acceptability of at-home skills-based VR for chronic pain. A significant reduction in pain outcomes over the course of the 21-day treatment both within the VR group and compared with an audio-only version suggests that VR has the potential to provide enhanced treatment and greater improvement across a range of pain outcomes. These findings provide a foundation for future research on VR behavioral interventions for chronic pain.
News in Context:
FDA clears MindMaze GO neurorehabilitation platform, easing a...
Source: SharpBrains - October 22, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Authors: SharpBrains Tags: Brain/ Mental Health Technology & Innovation AppliedVR back pain Breakthrough Device Designation chronic pain EaseVRx FDA fibromyalgia virtual-reality Source Type: blogs
New guidelines for aches, pains, and strains
We’ve all been there before. A minor injury leads to a sore ankle, achy shoulder, or sore neck. You could do nothing, try to ignore it, and see if it gets better. Or you may be tempted to take something, especially if significant discomfort prevents you from doing your usual activities or keeps you up at night.
So, what’s the best initial treatment? For minor injuries, your options are many, including:
Home remedies. Common approaches are the “RICE” treatments — Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation: applying cold to the sore area, wearing an elastic wrap to compress the sore area, rest, and elevation (such as p...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - October 2, 2020 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Bones and joints Exercise and Fitness Health Pain Management Source Type: blogs
Fight Aging! Newsletter, September 14th 2020
This study is the first to provide a direct link between this inflammation and plaque development - by way of IFITM3.
Scientists know that the production of IFITM3 starts in response to activation of the immune system by invading viruses and bacteria. These observations, combined with the new findings that IFITM3 directly contributes to plaque formation, suggest that viral and bacterial infections could increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease development. Indeed, researchers found that the level of IFITM3 in human brain samples correlated with levels of certain viral infections as well as with gamma-secretase activ...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 13, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Newsletters Source Type: blogs
A Meta-Analysis of the Ability of Exercise to Reduce Age-Related Mortality
The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of physical activity and mortality in people with selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs). We aimed to define the dose-response relationship between post-diagnosis physical activity and mortality rates for nine NCDs with a high global burden of disease, including low back pain, type 2 diabetes (T2D), osteoarthritis, depressive disorder, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), breast cancer, lung cancer, stroke, and ischemic heart disease (IHD).
In total, 28 studies were included in the meta-analysis: 12 for breast ...
Source: Fight Aging! - September 10, 2020 Category: Research Authors: Reason Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs
What to do when one size does not fit all
Alert: rant ahead.
Early in my career working in persistent pain management, it was thought that “chronic pain is chronic pain is chronic pain” and pretty much anything that helped one person would help the next. Over time we’ve learned a lot more about persistent pain: the mechanisms differ a lot between neuropathic mechanisms and nociplastic mechanisms. Even within these groups, the mechanisms are very different. We’ve also learned a lot more about the psychosocial variables that are associated with prolonged disability and distress when pain persists. Some of the earliest work by Turk and coll...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - September 6, 2020 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Groupwork Interdisciplinary teams Pain conditions Research Science in practice Source Type: blogs
The hardly hidden costs
Chronic/persistent pain management is not sexy. No-one gets a magic cure. Lives are not saved – at least not in a way that mortality statistics show. Chronic pain management is under-funded.
And now: buried in a list of other proposed service cuts in the local health board’s plan to save millions of dollars, is a proposal to “save” $650,000 from the pain clinic. You’ll note also reductions in community services, GP support for vulnerable, and healthy lifestyles programmes.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/122558278/hundreds-of-staff-nurses-and-services-may-be-axed-at-canterbury-d...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - August 30, 2020 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Interdisciplinary teams News Pain conditions Research Science in practice Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Whose life is it anyway?
A couple of weeks back I posted about my concerns that exercise is often over-hyped, has limited effects on pain and disability, and therefore people going through a rehabilitation programme will likely dump doing the exercises as soon as the programme ends. Well, that was an interesting conversation starter! TBH I expected the response. On the one hand we have avid strength and conditioning people (including a whole bunch of physiotherapists) saying it’s crucial to get strong and fit because it’s good for health and longevity, while on the other hand we have a large group of “others” who think life...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - August 23, 2020 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Clinical reasoning Pain conditions Professional topics Research Science in practice goal setting Source Type: blogs
Is exercise the new snake oil? or just a dirty word?
If you haven’t heard about the health benefits of exercise in the last 10 years or longer, then you’ve probably been a hermit! Exercise can do all these wonderful things – help you lose weight, reduce heart disease, moderate insulin and blood glucose levels, improve your mental health, and yes! reduce pain and disability when you’re sore. (check this list out)
The claims sound suspiciously similar to the claims made by old snake oil merchants – or the amazing White Cross Electric Vibrator!
Well perhaps there’s a little more research supporting claims for exercise… but ar...
Source: HealthSkills Weblog - August 9, 2020 Category: Anesthesiology Authors: BronnieLennoxThompson Tags: Chronic pain Coping strategies Motivation Professional topics Resilience/Health Science in practice exercise movement persistent pain Source Type: blogs
