New cases of chronic pain occur more often among U.S. adults than new cases of several other common conditions, including diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure, according to new research. And among people who have chronic pain, almost two-thirds will still have it the following year. These findings come from a new analysis of National… Continue reading American Pain
Tag: chronic pain
Pain Rising Among Some Younger Americans
Younger Americans with less than a bachelor’s degree reported higher levels of pain than today’s older adults did at their age. Continued increases in pain as generations age may challenge a healthcare system already struggling to treat chronic pain. The study examined trends in pain, both nationwide and internationally, across adults of different ages. Pain… Continue reading Pain Rising Among Some Younger Americans
How to Keep Exercising Despite Chronic Pain
Pain is a great excuse if you don’t like to exercise, and it’s certainly something many people with chronic pain would just as soon avoid. Yet at the same time exercise is one of the things that can help make that pain go away. Research has shown that exercise is an essential aspect in the… Continue reading How to Keep Exercising Despite Chronic Pain
Hip-Surgery Patients Can Suffer Severe Post-Operative Problems
Many patients who had hip surgery are reporting new health problems, including sleep disturbances and cardiovascular disease, for up to two years after their procedure, new research shows. According to a news release from Duke University Medical Center, although such problems can diminish with the return of full mobility, the findings indicate that patients and… Continue reading Hip-Surgery Patients Can Suffer Severe Post-Operative Problems
A New View of Chronic Pain
The effect of a new concept known as High Impact Chronic Pain (HICP) is as likely among people with chronic pain as it is among people with kidney failure, emphysema or stroke, according to the National Institutes of Health. In a press release citing a new study, the NIH said that 11 million U.S. adults… Continue reading A New View of Chronic Pain
Five Myths and Five Insights about Chronic Pain
In “acute” pain (caused by a recent injury), the pain signals tissue damage. In ‘chronic’ pain (pain which has lasted after the tissue has healed) the pain is a sort of “ghost”. It no longer indicates ongoing injury. Most doctors are taught that this is true. Because of this belief, they keep looking to the… Continue reading Five Myths and Five Insights about Chronic Pain
Animal Study Shows Why Opioid Therapy May Not Always Work Well for Chronic Pain
Pain-induced changes in the rat brain’s opioid receptor system may explain the limited effectiveness of opioid therapy in chronic pain and may play a role in the depression that often accompanies it, according to new research. These findings clearly show the impact of chronic pain on the brain and its relation to depression. The study,… Continue reading Animal Study Shows Why Opioid Therapy May Not Always Work Well for Chronic Pain
Online Assessment Tool to Guide Doctors in Treating Those with Chronic Pain
People in chronic pain are some of the most difficult patients to treat. They have complex circumstances that medicine can’t always remedy. Pain can be amplified by depression, anxiety, genetics, and quality of life. Genetics can also play a role in how people experience pain. Physicians are less prone these days to prescribe opioid medication… Continue reading Online Assessment Tool to Guide Doctors in Treating Those with Chronic Pain
Try Some Tai Chi
With roots in 12th-century China, tai chi is a form of moving meditation that can help both your body and mind. You may have seen practitioners in parks in your town or in movies, gathered in small groups, following along in a sort of slow motion martial arts training. You can do as few as… Continue reading Try Some Tai Chi
How Fear Can Influence Treatment for Chronic Pain
A leading psychology professor at The University of Texas at Arlington has focused international attention on how a chronic pain patient’s irrational doubts about never getting better can influence both his reactions to pain and even treatment outcomes. Chronic pain costs the U.S. up to $635 billion each year in medical treatment and lost productivity,… Continue reading How Fear Can Influence Treatment for Chronic Pain
Pain and Your Brain
Scientists at The University of Manchester, UK, have shown for the first time that if the brain is ‘tuned-in’ to a particular frequency, pain can be alleviated. Chronic pain- pain which lasts for more than six months – is a real problem for many people, with 20-50 % of the general population estimated to suffer… Continue reading Pain and Your Brain
The Illness of Chronic Pain
A sprained ankle can be a real pain. But injuries like sprains, bone fractures, pulled muscles, cuts, and even minor burns are everyday pain and a normal part of life. While the pain may be acute, it’s not lasting, and the discomfort eventually subsides and resolves over time. On the other hand, if pain lingers… Continue reading The Illness of Chronic Pain
Hope for A New Chronic Pain Treatment
The potential of light as a non-invasive, highly-focused alternative to pain medication was made more apparent thanks to research conducted by scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital of McGill University and the McGill University Health Centre. The study was published in the journal eNeuro. Researchers bred mice with a light-sensitive trait in peripheral… Continue reading Hope for A New Chronic Pain Treatment
Ending Chronic Pain With New Drug Therapy
A brain region controlling whether we feel happy or sad, as well as addiction, is remodeled by chronic pain, according to a Northwestern Medicine study. The paper was published December 21st 2015 in Nature Neuroscience. A release from the university reports that in a significant breakthrough for the millions of Americans suffering from chronic pain,… Continue reading Ending Chronic Pain With New Drug Therapy
A Frightening Epidemic among Middle-Class Americans
There’s a new epidemic among white, middle-aged Americans, according to a recent study from Princeton University. The number of deaths from drugs and alcohol; suicide; chronic liver disease; and cirrhosis have increased to the point where the number of deaths are comparable to the number of Americans who have died of AIDS, according to the… Continue reading A Frightening Epidemic among Middle-Class Americans
Learning to Live with Chronic Pain
Chronic pain comes in a wide variety of forms, and the causes are many. Recent studies show that nearly one third of us — more than 100 million Americans each year, suffer from back pain, joint pain, arthritis; neck and muscle pain, headache and other types of recurrent pain. People who suffer from chronic pain… Continue reading Learning to Live with Chronic Pain
No Evidence Opioids Are Effective for Chronic Pain
A National Institutes of Health white paper that was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in January 2015 reported little to no evidence for the effectiveness of opioid drugs in the treatment of long-term chronic pain, despite the explosive recent growth in the use of the drugs. A release from the University of Connecticut… Continue reading No Evidence Opioids Are Effective for Chronic Pain
A New Means to Erase Pain
A study published in the July 2104 issue of Nature Neuroscience by Yves De Koninck and Robert Bonin, two researchers at Université Laval in Quebec, reveals that it is possible to relieve pain hypersensitivity using a counterintuitive method that involves rekindling pain so that it can subsequently be erased. This discovery could lead to novel means to alleviate chronic pain.