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The art of treating chronic pain requires one to address both the sensory and emotional aspects of pain. Pain medicine is a relatively new field conceived out of unmet needs to help those who suffer from chronic pain. With the recent development of formal pain medicine training programs, this new...
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This presentation will highlight common procedures used for pain reduction, their evidence base, and a basic description of how each procedure is performed. We will primarily review epidural steroid injections, facet joint blocks and denervation, sacroiliac joint injections and denervation...
| Podcast
West Virginia continues to lead the nation, and world, in drug overdoses, which makes one ponder as to what is being done at the “ground zero” of the opioid epidemic to save and improve lives. Where else but where it’s “worst” should some of the possible solutions come from? In 2016, an...
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The clinical ideal is to match known, objectively identified mechanisms of disease with the known mechanisms of an intervention (drug or nondrug). Of course, we are far from this ideal as our knowledge of disease mechanisms is very elementary in some cases, especially in pain, and our knowledge of...
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Ketamine is abused as a club drug due to its potent hallucinogenic properties. What we know of the drug’s adverse events/side effects/toxicity in high dose and frequent use come from this cohort of abusers, with most of the data coming from Japan. We will examine the neurocognitive effects (euphoria...
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Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a painful condition localized to a limb or body region, typically in response to trauma or surgery. Although several contributing mechanisms of CRPS have been described, the exact pathophysiology of the condition is not completely known. Graded motor imagery...
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The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is recognized as an important modulator of many physiological processes. Recently, an increasing body of evidence has been accumulated to suggest the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and antinociceptive roles of the ECS. In 1997, the Office of...
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Skin conditions can be painful too. We are fortunate to have CBD and other cannabinoids as well as THC for many skin conditions including acne, itch, eczema, psoriasis, and wounds of all sorts. The cannabinoids help not only with the signs and symptoms of the dermatologic problem, but also help...
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The opioid epidemic has caused many patients, clinicians, and payers to seek nonpharmacologic options to assist with managing pain. Psychology has a well-established role in the treatment of pain conditions but familiarity with the range of pain related interventions varies widely among clinicians...
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Depending on the condition, over 75% of individuals who experience chronic pain also experience disrupted sleep due to both direct factors (pain itself) and indirect factors (decreased activity, increased muscle tension, heightened stress). Conversely, up to 50% of individuals who seek help for...