As the U.S. continues to battle a relentless opioid epidemic, new research out of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus adds more fuel to the notion that opioids aren’t just addictive and ineffective when it comes to pain management – they’re also...
Stem cell treatments are an especially innovative technique in the research, treatment, and understanding of diseases and injuries. And while we’re already studying the use of stem cells for a variety of conditions to do things like stimulate healing and regeneration of degenerated, painful, or...
One of the most important steps toward cutting back on opioid dependence is offering pain sufferers other, better options for managing their discomfort. One alternative that is increasingly getting recognized for its effectiveness is neuromodulation – implanted medical devices that use electrical stimulation to block...
There are a lot of debates when it comes to how to best treat pain, but one thing is clear: opioid drugs, long relied on for their ability to block pain signals to the brain, are a problem of epidemic proportions. In 2014 alone, 47,000...
Many individuals suffer from low back pain, but only a few can source the cause of their pain to time spent in outer space. Astronauts who spend prolonged periods of time in space often return to Earth suffering from low back pain and an increased...
Patients seeking medical marijuana claim it offers relief from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain. However, there is little scientific evidence that supports marijuana’s value for treating these conditions. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs conducted a large systematic review of clinical...
"Certainly yes," was the response of Jeff Miller, senior vice president of health and safety for the National Football League, when asked at a recent congressional hearing on concussions if there is a connection between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a degenerative...
We all experience pain to different degrees, but a new study of adult patients at the Pain Management Center of Loyola University suggests that there is a distinct difference between how men and women experience pain, with women being more likely to seek treatment for...
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a type of nerve damage that affects about half of patients with diabetes. Symptoms can be incredibly painful, and most often manifest in the legs and feet....
Neuropathic pain—a state of complex, chronic pain caused by damage or disease affecting the somatosensory nervous system—may not be fully manageable with opioid therapy alone. A study conducted by researchers from the University of Alberta and published in Pain Medicine found that while opioids do...
