| Podcast
The field of pain management has undergone a circuitous adventure, much like a rabbit hole. As the economic, mental health, and medical consequences of prescribing opioid medications have mounted, the prevailing logic regarding the usefulness of prescribing opioids for chronic pain has shifted. The...
| Podcast
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...
| Podcast
Opioid therapy fairly predictably causes constipation, which can be a great source of distress for patients. Defined as a reduction in bowel movement frequency and increased straining, this adverse effect is so common that good practice dictates preventive therapies, not waiting to see if it...
| Video
Pain and depression are complex constructs that involve disease, but also patient vulnerabilities, reinforcements, and outcomes. Dr. Clark discusses the evaluation of patients from these different perspectives with the goal of developing tailored therapies that promote rehabilitation and better...
| Article
A common question is how do you manage acute pain in folks with chronic pain and opioid tolerance. It’s similar to the general principles, and using plan of care, multimodal analgesia, having in a professional team, understanding what the goals are realistically in terms of recovery, not just...
| Article
In surveys that have been done, 95 percent of the drugs that are used to control acute postoperative pain are opioid-based and that’s been done for many years. There is a general movement through the anesthesia and surgical community to what’s known as enhanced recovery after surgery, or ERAS. There...
| Article
The risk of opioid induced respiratory depression (OIRD), especially among elderly patients, may be even more pronounced than previously thought, according to findings from a new study published online this week in the journal Anesthesiology. The study reports that a single dose of oxycodone taken...
| Video
Evidence based biobehavioral therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and biobehavioral training are indicated for a variety of chronic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia and migraine headache. Dr. Buse, a psychologist, researcher and professor of medicine, outlines what primary...
| Article
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...
| Podcast
Effective pain management has been deemed a human right, but some chronic pain patients perceive that to mean they are entitled to opioid analgesics for prolonged pain control. In response to these expectations, providers may feel pressured to say "Yes" and continue prescribing opioids, thereby...