| Article
Morton’s neuralgia, as it turns out, is not a true growth of the nerve, but is a compression-type injury of the peripheral nerve as it is in the plantar aspect of the foot, heading out towards the toes. It produces some remarkable symptoms that have folks limping in through the door. The diagnostic...
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Most state licensing boards specify that if you’re in a chronic opioid prescribing situation, you have to do a history and physical evaluation, write up a treatment plan, be sure there is informed consent, and a treatment agreement. If it’s a new patient that you don’t know well, think about a slow...
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I don’t think it’s out of the scope of good practice to even have a conversation pre-prescription of opioids to say, I’m considering prescribing these things to you, but just keep in mind that these can cause problems with people and you really don’t know whether it will or won’t unless you do it or...
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Back pain is one of the primary reasons patients end up seeing a physician, primary care doctors included. So I think it’s important to realize that you have to be very tenacious in diagnosing the actual cause of the pain because we don’t want to just treat the symptoms. It’s important to understand...
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Dr. Mackey summarizes his PAINWeek presentation on the mechanisms and impact of neuropathic pain, with guidance on clinical assessment and approaches to treatment with emphasis on pharmacological options.
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Medical recordkeeping has the potential to be reduced to checkboxes: I’ve done this, I’ve done that, I’m good with the people who will review my records, so I’m done. But I think integrating the information in a meaningful fashion is the next level that we’re trying to get clinicians to go to. So in...
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A gynecologic pain specialist discusses vulvodynia in the context of other women's pain conditions, with guidance on pain mechanisms and differential diagnosis. With a prevalence of 8% to 20% of the patient population, vaginal pain is deserving of greater clinical attention. Watch the segment to...
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NSAID therapy is really a complex topic, and is associated with a wide range of cautions and adverse effects, as is well known. Aspirin was really the first drug that was used as an NSAID, over a century ago. Of course, we know all these years later if aspirin came on the market now, it surely would...
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An occupational therapist and practicing attorney discusses the power of engagement as a means to improving outcomes in patients with chronic pain conditions—and why this approach is good public policy as well.
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Catastrophizing is a set of negative cognitive and emotional responses to pain that encompasses factors like feelings of helplessness when in pain. People who catastrophize feel that there’s nothing they can do about the pain that they’re having. They ruminate about pain. They can’t get thoughts of...