Feature Channels: Pain

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The use of medical cannabis has garnered a lot of recent attention, especially as parts of the United States and Canada have legalized its use. While it has been studied in cancer and nerve pain, not much is known about the usage rate and its efficacy in managing chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. According to a new study released as part of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ (AAOS) Virtual Education Experience, up to 20% of patients presenting to an orthopaedic surgeon with chronic MSK pain are using cannabis to manage their pain, with many reporting success. Additionally, two-thirds of non-users are interested in using it for the management of MSK pain, prompting a need to further study its effects.

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Researchers at the University of Wisconsin (UW) are adapting a minimally invasive, safer approach to electrically treat pain directly at the source as part of the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every Tuesday throughout the duration of the outbreak.

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To ease access to needed healthcare services during the COVID-19 crisis, Physera, an app-based platform for remote physical therapy, today announced that it has launched a new direct-to-consumer service for people who have musculoskeletal (MSK) issues and pain.

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Adding yoga to your regularly prescribed migraine treatment may be better than medication alone, according to a study published in the May 6, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The new research suggests yoga may help people with migraines have headaches that happen less often, don’t last as long and are less painful. EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2020 Media Contacts: Renee Tessman, [email protected], (612) 928-6137 M.A. Rosko, [email protected], (612) 928-6169 For Better Migraine Treatment, Try Adding Some Downward Dogs MINNEAPOLIS - Adding yoga to your regularly prescribed migraine treatment may be better than medication alone, according to a study published in the May 6, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The new research suggests yoga may help people with migraines have headaches that happen less often, don’t last as long and are less pain

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Gender identity and genetic sex are distinctly variable when it comes to pain tolerance, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain Research.

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Public health expert, John C. Licciardone, a physician and preventive medicine specialist, discusses the potential impact of COVID-19 on patients' access to recommended treatments for chronic pain.

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A Texas hospital developed an integrated approach that reduced ventilation time for ICU patients. The 2018 study, in AACN Advanced Critical Care, is the first to examine the effects of implementing protocol-directed sedation with the coordinated use of two evidence-based assessments across multiple disciplines.

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Interscalene blocks are a type of regional anesthesia used to relieve pain during and after shoulder surgery. This procedure can lead to numbing of the phrenic nerve as well, however, which can lead to pulmonary complications. Researchers at Stanford University are experimenting with different amounts of saline that can help reverse the phrenic nerve blockade while still maintaining analgesic effect.

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Researchers from the University of British Columbia studied three lidocaine derivatives for use as motor blockade with promising results. This study provides insight into developing more effective, longer-lasting non-opioid local anesthetics, which could improve postoperative pain control. ASRA presented researchers with "Best of Meeting Abstract" and "Resident/Fellow Travel Award" for their work.

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Hemidiaphragmatic paresis, or HDP, is a condition in which one side of the diaphragm is weakened, resulting in shortness of breath and reduced respiratory function. It can occur when a patient is given regional anesthesia for shoulder surgery, using the supraclavicular nerve block. Researchers are trying to determine the right amount of anesthesia to use in the supraclavicular block so that the block still works but the chances of developing HDP are low.

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The sooner hip replacement patients can walk after surgery, the faster they can be discharged, allowing for more comfortable recovery at home, lower overall cost of care, and increased availability of critical hospital resources. Results of a recent study found that patients who received mepivacaine spinal anesthesia were more likely to ambulate early and be discharged on the day of surgery.

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Using an erector spinae plane block (ESPB) for postoperative analgesia from total shoulder replacement offers advantages over the more commonly used interscalene brachial plexus nerve block, including avoiding phrenic nerve complications and upper-extremity mobility issues, researchers from Stanford University in Stanford, CA, reported in findings from a new study.

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For more information about coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from Johns Hopkins Medicine, visit hopkinsmedicine.org/coronavirus. For information on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from around the Johns Hopkins enterprise, including from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Johns Hopkins University, visit coronavirus.jhu.edu.

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In a paper published on Feb 12 in the journal eLife, Dr. Toshimitsu Kawate, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine and his team reveal the form of pannexin1, a cellular membrane protein present in all vertebrates. With the size, shape and formation of this protein revealed for the first time, scientists can get closer to fine tuning new therapies for a multitude of diseases, including chronic pain, infertility and cancer.

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Many people trying to manage their pain and addiction have lost their support programs due to COVID-19. A Rutgers expert in Emergency Medicine discusses how patients can manage the disease during the coronavirus crisis.

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ASRA award recipients are being recognized for their accomplishments despite the cancellation of the group's annual spring meeting. Included in recipients is the anesthesia pioneer who identified a treatment for local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST), a serious potential complication associated with procedures involving local anesthetics.

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Emergency-style palliative care needs to implemented to meet the needs of Covid-19 patients who wouldn't benefit from a ventilator say researchers.

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Research indicates that widespread opioid overprescribing contributed to the opioid epidemic. New research shows that this dangerous trend has apparently been coupled with another: inappropriate use of high-potency opioids.

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According to physiatrist Max Fitzgerald, MD, we should focus on routines that prevent our muscles from getting tight and causing pain. This is increasingly important as we are dealing with both the emotional and physical toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Medical marijuana users who say they have high levels of pain are more likely than those with low pain to say they use cannabis three or more times a day, a new study finds.

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New information from NCCN, ASCO, ASH, CDC, FDA, and others seeks to provide clear guidance on how to optimally manage cancer-related pain without exacerbating the ongoing opioid crisis—published jointly in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and JCO Oncology Practice.

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Eight trailblazing women in regional anesthesia and pain medicine are being honored for their achievements and contributions to the field as part of the ASRA Trailblazer Awards. Created to acknowledge potential for bias in the past, the program is part of the “Year of Women in ASRA,” so named by ASRA President Dr. Eugene Viscusi. Other components of the campaign include year-round highlights of prominent women in the field on the ASRA website and social media channels, greater recognition of gender disparities at meetings, improved data collection to continue to assess our progress representing the field, and, most importantly, development of an organizational plan to identify and correct disparities across all minority groups.

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Advances in knee replacement surgery, such as robotic-assisted surgery and improvements in implant design and materials, make it a viable option for younger patients seeking pain relief.

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In an article published March 13, 2020 in the journal Pain, David A. Seminowicz, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Neural and Pain Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, and coauthors show how mindfulness can help in the fight against migraines.

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More than 90% of the legal marijuana products offered in medical dispensaries are much stronger than what clinical studies have shown that doctors recommend for chronic pain relief, according to a study published in the March 26 online edition of the journal PLOS ONE.

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Ziva Cooper, research director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, has been awarded a $3.9 million grant from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the NIH to study whether cannabis chemicals called terpenes can reduce the amount of opioid medication a person needs to reduce pain.

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Almost two-thirds of surgeons reported an increase in neck pain after performing surgery, and one-quarter rated their neck or lower back pain as clinically significant, a new Mayo Clinic study has found. The research was published in the Journal of American College of Surgeons.

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At a presentation at UAB, NIH director Francis Collins outlined the top 10 area of excitement and promise in science.

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Data from the PRECISION Pain Research Registry demonstrated that key outcome measures of chronic low back pain, such as pain intensity, physical function and five quality-of-life measures, remained generally stable regardless of patient characteristics and the treatments they used.

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To help physicians safely and effectively alleviate pain and encourage optimal opioid stewardship in patients following surgery, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) today released the Pain Alleviation Toolkit. The toolkit provides physicians and patients with resources to encourage communication and decision-making to help reduce patients’ postoperative pain as much and as safely as possible.

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A new two-step technique to repair herniated discs uses hyaluronic acid gel to re-inflate the disc and collagen gel to seal the hole, essentially repairing ruptured discs like you’d repair a flat tire.

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For the first time, an international collaboration of researchers have succeeded in creating a complete overview of all pain conditions in the face, mouth and jaw and classifying them in the same way.

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The March issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology features evidence-based articles related to complementary and alternative medicine therapies for functional GI disorders, a new ACG Clinical Guideline for the diagnosis and management of Chronic Pancreatitis, opioid-related constipation, and more.

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Researchers from the School of Pharmacy at Queen’s University Belfast have developed a new antimicrobial coating which can be applied to urinary catheters and other medical devices to significantly reduce pain and lower the risk of infection for its users. This unique coating has the potential to greatly improve the quality of life for the millions of catheter users worldwide.

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People with headache who use smartphones may be more likely to use more pain medication and find less relief when they do than people with headache who do not use smartphones, according to a preliminary study published in the March 4, 2020, online issue of Neurology® Clinical Practice, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study does not prove that smartphone use causes greater use of pain medication and less relief; it only shows an association.

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Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies show effectiveness at improving quality of life for patients of various diagnoses in acute rehabilitation, in-patient facilities, according to preliminary data from a new study presented this week at the Association of Academic Physiatrists Annual Meeting in Orlando.

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A team of researchers at the University of Arizona has found that low-intensity ultrasound waves directed at a particular region of the brain’s prefrontal cortex in healthy subjects can elevate mood, and decrease connectivity in a brain network that has been shown to be hyperactive in psychiatric disorders. The method uses transcranial focused ultrasound (‘tFUS’), a painless, non-invasive technique to modulate brain function comparable to transcranial magnetic stimulation (‘TMS’), and transcranial direct current stimulation (‘tDCS’). This study shows, for the first time, a correlation between tFUS-induced mood enhancement, and reorganization of brain circuits.

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Chronic pain affects a large proportion of older adults and most long-term care residents. Managing chronic pain effectively is essential but challenging, and it has been complicated by concerns about opioid abuse.

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Chronic pain, a disabling health condition that affects 50 million to 116 million Americans, is often treated with opioids, despite little evidence of long-term benefit and risks of addiction and overdose. Do patients know their options beyond opioids? Are doctors telling them?

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Mount Sinai researchers have designed an artificial intelligence model that can determine whether lower back pain is acute or chronic by scouring doctors’ notes within electronic medical records, an approach that can help to treat patients more accurately, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research in February.

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When chronic pain keeps children from being active and social, it’s no surprise that anxiety and depression can become unwelcome playmates. The good news: there is help, and it starts with recognizing that a problem exists.

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A new surgical procedure to repair a common wrist wrist injury is showing promise in relieving pain and restoring function, and in lowering the risk of progressive arthritis. The surgery is performed to repair a torn repair torn scapholunate ligament.

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Loyola Medicine's Cardiovascular Experts Provide Screening and Treatment for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

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In a new discovery, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have detected widespread inflammation in the brains of veterans diagnosed with Gulf War Illness (GWI).

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Consumption of cocoa may improve walking performance for patients with peripheral artery disease, according to the results of a small, preliminary, phase II research trial published today in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation Research.

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The emotional distress that often accompanies a breakup is called social pain, and it may cause sadness, depression and loneliness, as well as actual physical pain, research has shown. A study, published recently in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine may have found an antidote – forgiveness combined with acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol.

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Loyola Medicine is among the first to conduct a clinical study using hypnotherapy to treat functional dyspepsia, a gastrointestinal disorder affecting approximately 10 percent of the population.

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University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center (UH) is the first clinical setting in Ohio using special technology to identify harmful bacteria, leading to healing for patients suffering from chronic wounds. Windy Cole, DPM, Medical Director of the UH Ahuja Wound Care Center, conducted research studies utilizing the MolecuLight i:X® and is leading the use of the novel device in the state.