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Patients suffering from chronic pain commonly experience comorbid problems that can further impair quality of life. These include psychological and medical comorbidities and fatigue and sleep disorders. Greater than 50% of patients with pain disorders experience sleep disturbance, with estimates as...
| Podcast
The Institute of Medicine stated in 2011 that one of the health professional's primary roles for chronic pain should be guiding, coaching, and assisting patients with day-to-day self-management of their pain condition and, along with National Institutes of Health, have established research involving...
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As we acknowledge the recent increases in deaths and other negative outcomes associated with chronic opioid use, abuse, and overdose, we as clinicians are faced with very important questions: Can opioids be rationally prescribed for chronic pain? For whom? How? For how long? Recent CDC guidelines...
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Chronic pain affects 100 million US adults. It is the #1 reason people are out of work. It is the leading reason that people seek medical attention, costing the nation upwards of $635 billion annually--more than heart disease, cancer, and diabetes combined. Given the burden of unmanaged pain in...
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There is a group of intractable pain patients who have extensively accessed the pain treatment system only to be unable to find satisfactory pain relief. These patients have sought treatment at multiple academic centers and attempted numerous nonmedical, pharmacologic, and invasive interventions...
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New research led by a medical sociologist from University at Buffalo, New York, concludes that older Americans who are less educated and poorer are much more likely to be impacted by chronic pain than their wealthier, better-educated counterparts. The findings deliver bad news on several fronts...
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A new study reported by the Research Society on Alcoholism concludes that alternative pain therapies including acupuncture and electroacupuncture (EA) may be effective in reducing the incidence of hyperalgesia that may accompany alcohol withdrawal. The onset of hyperalgesia, or increased sensitivity...
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It’s pretty remarkable that mindfulness meditation can be more powerful than morphine. Morphine has been shown to, on average, reduce chronic pain by about 25%. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to, on average, reduce chronic pain by about 40% and in some cases up to 93% with short-term and...
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A common practice for treating chronic back pain includes core stabilization. There is strongly held belief in health care and fitness that back pain is related to the strength of core muscles. Where did this belief originate? Why is it so popular? What is the evidence supporting widespread use of...
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Controversies continue to exist regarding safe and appropriate management of people with chronic pain. The "pendulum has swung in the other direction" with respect to the utility, safety, and efficacy of the use of opioids as a key component of chronic pain treatment. It seems to be unclear to many...