Pain
No kind of sensation is keener and more active than that of pain; its impressions are unmistakable - the Marquis de Sade, The 120 Days of Sodom
image by: Harrygouvas
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Is Pain a Sensation or an Emotion?
The United States uses a third of the world’s opioids but a fifth of Americans still say they suffer from chronic pain. The only demonstrable effect of two decades of widespread prescription of opioids has been catastrophic harm. With more than 47,000 Americans dying of opioid overdoses in 2017 and hundreds of thousands more addicted to them, it was recently reported that, for the first time, Americans were more likely to die of opioids than of car accidents.
This has forced many to take a step back and ponder the very nature of pain, to understand how best to alleviate it.
The ancient Greeks considered pain a passion — an emotion rather than a sensation like touch or smell.…
Resources
A cure of one’s own
It feels like the beginning of a reckoning with how many women are suffering pain on a daily basis, and how medicine has failed them. A reckoning with how strong the link is between pain and womanhood, and how urgent it is that we break it.
A New Prognosis for Pain Care
Innovative ways to measure, understand and treat pain are allowing doctors to ease patients’ suffering—without relying on dangerous drugs.
Doctors Are Still Denying People Pain Meds and the Results Are Deadly
Insurers and state governments haven’t gotten up to speed with federal recommendations, and pain patients are paying the price.
Everything You Need to Know About Using CBD for Pain and Anxiety
The compound, found in the cannabis plant, is thought to be good for muscle pain, headaches, and anxiety, among other things. But what does the research say?
100 million Americans have chronic pain. Very few use one of the best tools to treat it
Chronic pain often has no physical cause. Psychotherapy can reduce the suffering.
America Experiences More Pain Than Other Countries
A third of Americans have pain “often” or “very often”—here’s why.
America’s most famous back pain doctor said pain is in your head. Thousands think he's right.
Though he may not be a household name, Sarno is probably America’s most famous back pain doctor. Before his death on June 22, a day shy of his 94th birthday, he published four books and built a cult-like following of thousands of patients — including Howard Stern, and Larry David. Many of them claim to have been healed by Sarno, who essentially argued back pain was all in people’s heads. And Sarno himself often said that some 80 percent of his patients got better.
Genders experience pain differently, and women have it more
Research has found the only pain conditions more common in men are the relatively infrequent cluster headaches (where strong pain occurs on one side of the head), nerve pain after shingles, ankylosing spondylitis (a form of spinal arthritis) and migraine without perceptual disturbances of light and smell (called “aura”). Everything else – from pelvic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, all other headaches, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, jaw pain, bladder pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic regional pain syndrome to odontalgia (painful teeth) – is more common in women.
How to Block Out Pain
“Pain is a personal experience, and success comes from self-management,” says David Tauben, clinical professor in the department of pain medicine at the University of Washington.
Should you take Tylenol, Advil, or aspirin for pain? Here's what the evidence says.
Moore has done a number of systematic reviews on over-the-counter pain medications, looking at all the available evidence to figure out which ones work best for various problems. I asked him to describe the overall success rates for the most common three: acetaminophen (like Tylenol), ibuprofen (like Advil), and aspirin.
The opioid crisis changed how doctors think about pain
But there’s more to the crisis story than corporate pill dumping. Understanding how opioids became so ubiquitous in America requires understanding a fundamental shift that happened 30 years ago in how doctors thought about pain itself.
The Science of Why Swearing Reduces Pain
Research has shown that cursing allows you to handle suffering and actually diminishes the sensation of pain.
What the US can learn from other countries in dealing with pain and the opioid crisis
For me, the issue goes beyond the simplistic characterizations of pain management often seen in different countries and cultures. Pain isn’t just to be cured – or to be endured. Rather, all Americans, whether providing or receiving care, need to understand what can be learned from best practices in pain management around the world.
When Patients Are a Pain for Their Doctors
The most difficult patients could be negatively affecting their care, research shows.
Is Pain a Sensation or an Emotion?
We could learn a thing or two from the ancient Greeks’ understanding of suffering.
11 things you should know about common pain relievers
The two main categories of commonly used pain relievers are acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include aspirin and drugs known as COX-2 inhibitors. Many are available over the counter; some are available by prescription only.
6 Types of Pain You Shouldn't Ignore
Severe pain is trying to tell you about a health problem going on inside your body – and paying heed to these warning signs may just save your life.
Nanolume
As a patient, it’s important to be able to remember and adequately describe your pain to your healthcare provider. Pain is a complex sensation that can constantly change with varying intensities, textures, locations, and patterns of spread. Keeping track of all of the complex changes that can occur from day-to-day is a daunting task! This is especially true for individuals who suffer from a severe type of chronic pain called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) — aka, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
The Pain Community
The Pain Community’s (TPC) overarching goal is to improve the overall health, wellbeing, and quality of life of people with pain. Started in 2012 by people living with pain, caregivers, and pain management professionals... Our Vision: People with pain are informed experts who actively manage their pain conditions to achieve better health and wellness; they use their voices to speak out for better pain care for all.
Chronic Pain Lifestyle
Life begins anew when you suffer with chronic pain. As our lives change, we also change. Many of these changes are difficult and frustrating.
Control Your Pain
Use these resources to find a Pain Management Specialist, get information materials sent to you, talk to us, or chat with someone who is managing their pain with SCS and has been in your shoes.
PainExhibit.com
The PAIN Exhibit is an educational, visual arts exhibit from artists with chronic pain with their art expressing some facet of the pain experience. The mission of the PAIN Exhibit is to educate healthcare providers and the public about chronic pain through art; and to give voice to the many who suffer in abject silence.
Bedside Pain Manager
Bedside Pain Manager is a quick-reference guide, 8 pages packed with the critical pain control guidelines and reference information that doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals use on a daily basis to treat their patients' pain and symptoms
For Grace
For Grace is a nonprofit organization passionately devoted to ensuring the ethical and equal treatment of all women in pain.
HealthSkills
Healthskills is a blog for health providers who want to read about research related to self managing chronic pain.
Journal of Pain
The Journal of Pain publishes original articles related to all aspects of pain, including clinical and basic research, patient care, education, and health policy. Articles selected for publication in the Journal are most commonly reports of original clinical research or reports of original basic research.
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management provides the professional with the results of important new research and clinical information related to pain management and palliative care. This peer reviewed, internationally respected journal offers a much needed forum for the exchange of ideas and information.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
While acute pain is a normal sensation triggered in the nervous system to alert you to possible injury and the need to take care of yourself, chronic pain is different. Chronic pain persists. Pain signals keep firing in the nervous system for weeks, months, even years.
Nickie's Nook
A girl, a Guide Dog, chronic pain and a sense of humor
Pain Doctor
Pain Doctor was created with one mission in mind: help and educate people about their pain conditions, treatment options and find a doctor who can help end their pain issues. To do that, we’ve created a mammoth database of pain-related information, and it keeps expanding every day.
The Journal of Pain
The Journal of Pain publishes original articles related to all aspects of pain, including clinical and basic research, patient care, education, and health policy.
European Journal of Pain
The European Journal of Pain is an international multidisciplinary journal that aims to become a global forum on all major aspects of pain and its management. The journal differs from existing pain journals in its clinical and educational emphasis. Submissions from all over the world are welcome.
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