Pain Management and Chronic Pain - News

A person's genetic makeup may play an important role in the odds of suffering neck or back pain, new research suggests. In a study of more than 15,000 twins ages 20 to 71, Danish researchers found that genetic susceptibility seemed to explain a large share of the risk of suffering back and neck aches.

Corticosteroid shots provide quick relief for people suffering from a common type of hip pain, but the benefits don't last, a new study in The American Journal of Sports Medicine shows. Known as greater trochanter pain syndrome (the trochanter is the upper part of the femur where it joins the pelvis), this condition is typically treated with physical therapy, training error correction, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Dr.

Although the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac is commonly used to treat acute pain in children, it is not licensed for this purpose in all age groups. A new review, however, suggests that perhaps it should be.

Female veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are less likely to complain of painful physical conditions than their male counterparts are. The findings, from a study of more than 91,000 U.S. veterans, run counter to what is seen in the general population -- where women typically show higher rates of chronic pain conditions, including migraines, fibromyalgia and persistent abdominal pain.

Amputees can "learn" to move their missing arm in an anatomically impossible way, in some cases making normal movement of that "phantom limb" more difficult, new research shows. The findings show that the brain can alter how we perceive our bodies all by itself, without input from our senses, the researchers say, and raise the possibility of using similar strategies to treat certain movement problems and pain syndromes.

Veterans who suffered physical injuries or developed post-traumatic stress disorder after combat in Iraq or Afghanistan may suffer recurrent headaches, a new study suggests. In surveys of 308 veterans, researchers found that those who had suffered combat injuries were at greater risk of developing migraine headaches.

Have a headache and don't know why? It could be high levels of air pollution. A study from the densely populated Santiago Province of Chile -- a region surrounded by the Coastal and Andes mountains and, therefore, geographically prone to air pollution - found increased hospital admissions for migraines and other headaches on days of elevated air pollution readings.

A new study suggests that the increasing availability of MRI scanners may be feeding an increase in surgery for lower back pain -- despite doubts about the effectiveness of surgery for most people. Looking at MRI availability in 318 U.

A special acupuncture technique can help ease lower back and pelvic pain in pregnant women, new research shows. In a study, women who had pressure needles held in place with tape at three acupuncture points in their ears for one week, were more likely to experience significant reductions in lower back and pelvic pain than those who had the needles placed at three "sham" points or women in a control group who didn't get real or fake acupuncture.

It's not all in the mind -- the so-called placebo effect is real and reaches right down to the spine, German scientists said on Thursday.

Women whose breasts became tender after taking hormone replacement therapy had nearly twice the risk of developing breast cancer than women whose breasts did not become tender on the drugs, U.S. researchers said on Monday. They said breast tenderness may be a way to identify women who have a higher risk of developing breast cancer while taking hormone replacement therapy to treat menopause.

Despite doctors' concerns over fueling painkiller addiction, people with a history of drug or alcohol abuse appear more likely than others to be prescribed potentially addictive painkillers for chronic pain, a new study suggests.

Does your kid suffer from frequent tummy aches? A behavioral therapy known as guided imagery may offer a relatively simple way to soothe children's chronic abdominal pain, a study published Monday suggests. The study, reported in the journal Pediatrics, tested CD-based guided imagery for treating what doctors refer to as functional abdominal pain -- a problem thought to affect up to 20 percent of children.

Are you at risk for dowager's hump? Findings from a small study suggest you may want to try yoga to decrease this age-related curve of the upper spine. Among a group of elderly study participants, those who did yoga for six months saw their upper spine curve lowered by about 5 percent compared to those who did no yoga, Dr.

Care about the future of your feet? You might want to consider your shoe choices carefully, new research shows. Older women who said they usually wore athletic shoes or sneakers in the past were 67 percent less likely to have pain in the back of their feet than women who used other types of footwear, the researchers found.

Care about the future of your feet? You might want to consider your shoe choices carefully, new research shows. Older women who said they usually wore athletic shoes or sneakers in the past were 67 percent less likely to have pain in the back of their feet than women who used other types of footwear, the researchers found.

Some research has hinted that women are more sensitive to pain than men are, but a new study suggests that women actually get over their discomfort more quickly. Researchers found that when they exposed 32 adults to a moderately painful stimulus -- a heat-producing probe placed on the skin -- women were initially more sensitive to the pain than men.

Your lower back pain may be killing you, but there's some good news: Such pain is very unlikely to mean serious problems such as broken vertebrae or cancer, according to a study by Australian researchers.

Your lower back pain may be killing you, but there's some good news: Such pain is very unlikely to mean serious problems such as broken vertebrae or cancer, according to a study by Australian researchers. Dr. Christopher G.

Fibromyalgia isn't all in your head, new research suggests. In a study, researchers found that people with fibromyalgia were more likely than those without the chronic pain condition to have poor balance, tingling and weakness in the arms and legs, and other "neurologic" signs and symptoms.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney had surgery on Thursday to treat an often-debilitating back condition caused by pressure on the nerves in the lower spine, his office said in a statement. "Former Vice President Cheney's surgery went well" the statement said, adding that he expects to be released soon.

Actor Burt Reynolds has gone public with his battle against an addiction to painkillers, hoping his story will help others in a similar situation. Reynolds' manager Erik Kritzer said in a widely reported statement that the 73-year-old actor had checked into a drug rehab clinic to receive treatment for an addiction to painkillers that were prescribed following back surgery.

A review of studies on music to help tiny premature babies cope with pain, feed better and calm down has found some evidence that listening to tunes can benefit these babies. "We did this because this practice is very widespread," said Dr.

There is no high-quality evidence that listening to music helps tiny babies born prematurely cope with pain, feed better and calm down, according to a review of studies. While there are some "preliminary" indications that music could be helpful for specific purposes, such as easing pain during circumcision, "these findings need to be confirmed in methodologically rigorous trials," Dr.

Just because they're sick doesn't mean that children with chronic illness will sleep peacefully through the night, new research from Norway shows. Children with sleep problems often don't outgrow them, and these problems may be particularly persistent in kids with chronic illness, Dr.

"Oh, my aching back!" may be heard less frequently as people with chronic lower back pain find some relief from a therapeutic form of yoga, a new study suggests. Yoga is often promoted as a way to ease lower back pain and other chronic body aches, but there have been few rigorously conducted studies on the subject.

The Alexander Technique is based on a simple idea: if an activity hurts, stop doing it that way. The offending action can be just about anything from sitting at the computer to running a marathon, playing the piano, or just getting out of a chair.

For people who suffer from acute low back pain, adding chiropractic spinal adjustments to standard care -- such as following your doctor's advice on managing pain and taking painkillers -- does not appear to generate a greater early reduction in pain compared with standard care alone, according to a Swiss study.

Children recovering from a broken arm should get ibuprofen to treat their pain, not codeine-laced acetaminophen, researchers advise based on a head-to-head comparison of the two pain treatments in children. Ibuprofen, the active ingredient in over-the-counter drugs like Advil and Motrin, was just as effective as acetaminophen combined with the opiate painkiller codeine, and caused fewer side effects, Dr.

Most children who suffer chronic daily headaches may outgrow the disabling condition, a long-term study hints. "Our results suggest there is hope for children who experience these headaches and for their parents, who also deal with the frustration and considerable disability that this condition can bring," Dr.