Pain

While treating our patients' depression is a crucial aspect of sound pain management practice in primary care, the analgesic effects of certain antidepressants, particularly for select types of chronic pain, should also not be underestimated.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) sufferers experience more than just pain and changes to their cartilage, bone, ligaments, and muscles in the surrounding area. They also often experience changes in the sensory and motor function of the knee.

Pain is widely considered the "fifth vital sign" – and for good reason. By some estimates, pain accounts for as much as 4 out of every 5 doctor visits in the US. Thus, learning more about the correlates and determinants of pain is particularly important.

Patients who suffer from migraine headaches may find relief in the severity, frequency, and duration with the help of 2 procedures.

Study results presented at the 2015 Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism show treatment with apremilast can improve common, painful manifestations of psoriatic arthritis.

For the first time, researchers have evidence identifying the key cells behind the pain imbalance between genders.

The corticosteroid beclomesthasone diproprionate (BDP) can successfully treat patients afflicted with active mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis (UC).

Physical therapy and exercise regimens have been found by many studies to be beneficial to patients with fibromyalgia. But what types of exercise are appropriate for patients who experience persistent, widespread pain, and who may be suffering sleep disturbance, joint stiffness, and many other interrelated symptoms?

Chronic pain may not be as immediately urgent or life-threatening as cancer, a cardiac event, or kidney disease. But as pain management specialists and pain patients see every day, the long-term effects of chronic pain on patients' lives can be nothing short of debilitating.

Non-viral gene therapy can temporarily reduce painful diabetic neuropathy, according to research from Northwestern Medicine.

It should be common knowledge that prescription opioids have addictive properties, yet alarming survey results reveal that many healthcare providers do not understand the extent to which this is the case.

In addition to killing emotions and proving to be ineffective for back pain and osteoarthritis, the most common drug ingredient in the US can also cause severe bodily harm.

A new opioid will soon be on the market now that final approval from the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been confirmed.

Although some studies have hinted at a possible role for metformin in pain management, a recent investigation found no difference in pain scores among diabetic patients who used metformin and those who did not

The vast majority of oncology research is dedicated to finding medications that either cure or more effectively manage the disease. But what about cancer patients in later life or those who are suffering from late-stage cancer, for whom a cure is unlikely? A study recently published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management provides several interesting insights into patient attitudes toward symptom control for late-stage cancer and the potential impacts of such treatment.

With many Americans blaming overprescribing for the painkiller abuse epidemic, novel treatments excluding medication – such as the oxygen chamber – are few and far between. However, a new analysis may have uncovered one for patients with chronic lower back pain.

Potentially addictive opioids may be avoidable thanks to a new treatment pathway for chronic pain and other painful conditions by focusing on genetics.

A gout medication did not show significant statistical benefit in lowering flares associated with the condition.

Spend any appreciable time on PubMed, Medline, or Embase, and you can begin to think that there aren't many untapped areas of clinical exploration. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course, and a recent clinical review in Arthritis Research and Therapy outlines some of the uncharted territory even in a condition as prevalent as osteoarthritis of the knee.

Pain management research goes far beyond identifying drug development and new uses for existing medication. One particularly interesting but neglected area of study involves prism adaptation, a non-invasive, non-medication procedure that sounds like something straight out of a science fiction novel.

Multiple studies have demonstrated the efficacy of a new class of drugs for preventing the intense pain and crippling effects of migraines.

A CDC report recommends that when physicians prescribe opioids, appropriate patients should also get naloxone kits in case they overdose.

The days of patients requesting stacks of paper medical records being sent to a new healthcare professional are largely over in many places. How the information is transmitted and who gets to see that information is now a topic of discussion in the community.

The field of electronic health records has made big advancements in recent years but there is still more work to be done. How that work is done will depend on input not only from the healthcare field but also the patients who use it.

The summer 2015 issue of the Journal of Surgical Orthopedic Advances discusses a question that continues to vex surgeons and patients alike: when can patients who have arthroscopic rotator cuff repair drive again and what are the patient's perceptions? To date, no clear guideline has been developed for driving safety and maneuverability during post-operative recovery.

Many hospitals around the country are eliminating their paper records all together which is changing the way patient records are shared. This can have a long reach into a patient's life as different parts of their lives depend on having their records to send to various entities.

Now that it has been shown that more control can be given to patients in regards to their electronic health records, the question becomes whether it should be done and how it should be done.

When converting medical records into an electronic form most of the work can be done without much consideration. However, when it comes to observations and other notes by healthcare professionals, how they are included and made available to patients can present the need for more in depth thought.

When deciding how or even if to give patients access to their medical records, a recent study found there are many areas that need to be considered before the access is made available.

When given the choice of what parts of their records patients wanted made available to healthcare professionals, the results showed a mixed reaction to the ability. There were also questions raised about the risks associated with only making the records available to certain people.