Boutique Medical Practices Are Booming!

Concierge medicine, or boutique medical practices are booming, a 2012 survey by the American Academy of Private Physicians reported that there were 4,400 concierge doctors in the United States, which was a 30 percent increase from the previous year. What is the reason? (published site)

CRPS: A Long and Painful Road to Diagnosis

Clinical Pain Advisor

Michael O’Leary

February 16, 2016

CRPS is often delayed and subsequent orthopedic
surgery often worsens the condition.

Diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is often delayed and subsequent orthopedic surgery often worsens the condition, according to a retrospective study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Pain.¹

Analyzing data for 55 patients, Ellen Jørum, MD, PhD, and colleagues from Oslo University Hospital found that the mean time delay to CRPS diagnosis was 4 years, and that orthopedic re-operations exacerbated 80% of cases. (published site)

Pain Assessment/Action Strategies Likely to Benefit Nursing Home Residents

Michael O’Leary

January 11, 2016

System-level interventions that link pain assessments to intervention measures are likely to be powerful tools for addressing pain in nursing home residents, according to a study published online in Pain Management Nursing.

Researchers led by Clint Douglas, RN, PhD, from the Wesley Mission Brisbane Pain Research Interest Group in Queensland, Australia, implemented a pain identification tool along with pain recognition training for nurses and (published site)

Stress Predicts Fibromyalgia Pain

Michael O’Leary

January 12, 2016

Stress is a powerful precursor of
fibromyalgia pain, but that pain does
not lead to more stress.

Stress is a powerful precursor of fibromyalgia pain, but that pain does not lead to more stress

Stress is a powerful precursor of fibromyalgia pain, but that pain does not lead to more stress, according to an ambulatory assessment study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology.1 (published site)

Few Try Evidence-based Nonpharmacologic Alternatives, Such as Yoga or Massage

Clinical Pain Advisor

December 17, 2015

Michael O’Leary

 
Heart failure patients rarely use evidence-based alternative treatments for comorbid chronic pain

Heart failure patients rarely use evidence-based alternative treatments for comorbid chronic pain, often resorting to opioids or contraindicated NSAIDs, according to a small, single-center study published in Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care.^{1 (published site)}

Comorbid Insomnia Exacerbates Fibromyalgia Brain Changes

Clinical Pain Advisor
December 21, 2015

Michael O’Leary

Comorbid insomnia exacerbates fibromyalgia-related alterations in the default mode network (DMN), according to a novel clinical neuroimaging study published in Journal of Pain Research.¹

Researchers led by Christina S. McCrae, PhD, from the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, used functional MRI (fMRI) to study brain activity in the intervals between applications of heat stimuli to the sole of the foot. The study population included 39 women with fibromyalgia and comorbid insomnia; 13 women with fibromyalgia alone served as controls.

The Impact of Physical Pain on Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors

Clinical Pain Advisor 

November 19, 2015
Michael O’Leary

Chronic pain affects 100 million Americans and costs the nation up to $635 billion each year in medical treatments and lost productivity, according to a 2011 report by the Institute of Medicine examining chronic pain as a public health problem.1

The depth of the problem was brought into sharp focus last month with a report from Princeton researchers2 showing a unique and startling rise in midlife mortality among white, non-Hispanic Americans driven, in part, by suicides and drug poisonings. (published site)