All Pain management Articles

Aspirin? Acetaminophen? Ibuprofen? Naproxen? Many people merely stick with what their parents used when they were children. But that may not be the best idea. Andy Ledford, pharmacist at St. Simons Drugs on St. Simons Island, says that individuals should find the medication that works best for them. "These medicines provide the public with relief of mild to moderate pain from Read more...

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- With flu vaccination season in full swing, research from the University of Rochester Medical Center cautions that use of many common pain killers -- Advil, Tylenol, aspirin -- at the time of injection may blunt the effect of the shot and have a negative effect on the immune system. Richard P. Phipps, Ph.D., professor of Environmental Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, Read more...

QUESTION: My 77-year-old husband just had his physical. Everything was great, and he is a picture of health. He wonders how this can be when he complains to the doctor every time about how he hurts so much. He suffers from all the things that go with fibromyalgia, yet no test or doctor can tell him this is what he is suffering from. He has had a lot of blood tests done, and everything always Read more...

Connie Raby has lived with back pain for years. "The condition originated from having a congenital 36-degree curve, or scoliosis, in my spine. I have also had ... pain to my right hip and groin as a result of my spinal diagnoses," she said. At 31, Raby had the first of three surgeries for a syrinx, or fluid-filled area, in her spine, which contained a benign tumor. Read more...

Surgery similar to a cosmetic forehead lift may lessen migraine symptoms, U.S. plastic surgeons say. The surgery incapacitates muscles that trigger trigeminal nerve branches. In a double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial, migraine symptoms were reduced by 50 percent in 83 percent of the patients receiving the surgery. "In this study, we've shown that surgical treatment of Read more...

QUESTION: I have painful arthritis (psoriatic) and I heard on the news that my medicine can cause cancer. I am afraid of it being recalled because I need my Enbrel. ANSWER: Currently, the FDA has not recalled any of the controversial drugs, they have just asked manufacturers to strengthen warnings about the potential dangers. Some studies point to an association with cancer, others do not, so Read more...

People in pain should try swearing, researchers at Britain's Keele University say. Keele University said in a release Sunday that school of psychology researchers Richard Stephens, John Atkins and Andrew Kingston had 64 undergraduate volunteers place their hands in ice water, once while swearing repeatedly and once while repeating a commonplace word. "It taps into emotional brain Read more...

WASHINGTON -- Tylenol, Excedrin, NyQuil. These household brands and others have come to symbolize safe, convenient relief from the aches and pains of everyday life. But this week the Food and Drug Administration is focusing on a seldom-discussed side effect of the medications: severe liver damage. Since the drugs first became widely available in the 1950s, the FDA has tried to minimize the risks Read more...

If you need aspirin to work fast, a U.S. researcher says chewable aspirin shows greater and more rapid absorption. Dr. Sean Nordt of the University of California in San Diego gave three types of aspirin to a group of volunteer research subjects: regular aspirin swallowed whole, regular aspirin chewed and swallowed and chewable aspirin chewed and swallowed. Nordt, the study leader, tested Read more...

U.S. scientists say they've determined how the human body differentiates various kinds of pain, overturning what has been conventional wisdom. Scientists from the California Institute of Technology and the University of California-San Francisco say they've shown how different sensory neurons -- called nociceptors -- respond to different kinds of pain stimuli. "Conventional wisdom was Read more...

WASHINGTON -- Those pain pills you think help your migraines? Take too many and you could make them worse. Overusing painkillers can spin migraine patients into a rut, spurring more headaches that in turn require more pain medication. A very unlucky fraction even get what's called chronic migraine, where they're in pain more days than not, and new research suggests certain prescription Read more...

If you're on pins and needles from holiday stress, a few strategically placed acupuncture needles could do the trick. It's better than aspirin for relieving headaches, according to a study published this month. "I have seen a lot of people come into my office with a lot of skepticism, and they came because someone recommended it -- possibly their doctor," said Jennifer Read more...

The American Physical Therapy Association is urging U.S. patients with musculoskeletal pain to consider treatment by a physical therapist. Lead researcher and APTA spokesman Michael Walker says a 2007 survey indicated that more than one-third of the 32,000 U.S. adults, and nearly 12 percent of children, use alternative medicine -- with back and neck pain as the top reasons for treatment. Read more...

Everyone knows a sinus infection or a major work project can make your head throb. But headaches can also be triggered by seemingly innocuous everyday activities -- like sleeping in on Saturdays or cleaning your apartment. With so many culprits, it's no wonder that one in five women suffer from migraines and nearly half of women endure tension headaches. But if you think popping a pill is the Read more...

One-half of all working Americans admit having back pain symptoms each year. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for staying away from work. In fact, back pain is the second most common reason for visiting the doctor, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic -- meaning they are not caused by serious conditions, such as Read more...

GolfersMD.com is releasing a new series of premium quality videos featuring the top doctors, trainers and physical therapists in the country to help the millions of golfers suffering from pain and injuries. The new videos focus on the 50 most common golf-related injuries. With the start of the golf off season for much of the U.S. coming up, now is an ideal time for golfers to address nagging Read more...

QUESTION: I'm a 65-year-old woman. Last August, my right knee began hurting, and I could not bend it. I don't remember injuring it. After an X-ray that was negative, my doctor gave my knee a cortisone shot, and I followed up with physical therapy for eight sessions. That helped until I wrenched my right foot while going down a step. After nine visits to the physical therapist for my foot, I was Read more...

WASHINGTON -- Government health advisers Monday recommended approval of the first new drug in 40 years for gout, a painful joint disease that mainly strikes middle-aged men. About 5 million people in the U.S. suffer from gout, a form of arthritis caused by a build-up of uric acid in the blood. Uloric, as the new drug is called, works by reducing levels of uric acid. In healthy people, Read more...

Nov. 25 -- Chronic pain sometimes starts as a distraction, an inconvenience. After all, it's human nature to think the hurt will go away over time. Unless there's a simple solution, the main treatment is two spoonfuls of denial. Kathleen Flach, a longtime distance runner and Ultimate Frisbee competitor, played through debilitating hip pain most of the past year. As the discomfort Read more...

The daily routine of workers, including sitting for hours in front of a computer or carrying laptops while commuting, is leading to a "cocktail" of back abuse which could bring an increase in sickness absence, according to a new report. A study of 1,000 adults by MBT footwear showed that two-thirds had suffered back pain, but that half tried to deal with the problem themselves Read more...