Pain Management

Rotating opioids can reduce the risk of developing tolerance to the analgesic effects of any single drug and of developing hyperalgesia.

The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) has recently been the target of a novel treatment for patients with cluster headaches. A sham-controlled randomized study of an implantable stimulator of the SPG offers encouraging preliminary results.

The goal is better developing the necessary skills for evaluating and managing patients who have persistent pain.

Clinicians’ understanding of pain and their pain management skills vary widely because there is no educational framework.

This week’s questions challenge your dermatologic and radiologic skills, and then some. See how you fare…

"The patient's report" has long been considered the most valid measure of human pain. Can fMRI replace that?

What caused vesicles and erythema and swelling of left auricle in this HIV-positive patient?

Among the NSAIDs used for relieving the pain of inflammatory arthritis, naproxen may have the best benefit to risk ratio on cardiovascular disease.

CRPS may involve central and peripheral factors, the latter including an inflammatory process, peripheral sensitization, and changes in sodium channels.

Lofgren syndrome, lumbar disk herniation, suppurative appendicitis with rupture, rotator cuff impingement syndrome, aortic dissection.

Seborrheic keratosis; retropharyngeal abscess; in situ malignant melanoma; statin-induced myalgias; basal cell carcinoma

Barriers to the use of statins-the most potent medicine currently available in the fight against atherosclerotic heart disease-are both real and perceived.

Patients who stop taking statins when rechallenged 1 year later are able to resume the same or a different statin with durable results.

Steroid injections for low back pain, tennis elbow, provide acute relief, but perhaps long-term damage.

An obese woman in her thirties with a history of fibromyalgia syndrome, depression, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and diabetes mellitus presents to her local emergency department with 1 week of gradually worsening midline back pain. What do these images show?

This condition is a more important risk factor than previously thought and should not be taken lightly.

Opioid medication prescriptions in emergency departments should be limited to a 3-day supply.

Is hydrocodone less likely to cause addiction than morphine or hydromorphone? The US DEA wants the FDA to reclassify the Schedule 3 opioid to Schedule II.

Stigma correlated most strongly with inability to work and was greater for chronic migraine than for epilepsy or episodic migraine.

Epidural steroid injections turned deadly raise pointed controversy over poor oversight of compounding pharmacies. But tainted or not, are the injections a valid therapy for back pain at all? Here, one expert’s opinion.

Chronic pain patients may benefit from dietary modifications including changes in the amounts of PUFAs, polyamines, and flavonoid-rich foods they eat.

When is it time to refer your patient with low back pain to a specialist for possible spine surgery? How long should you give conservative measures a try? What symptoms signal the need for urgent care? In this video, Raymond Haroun, MD addresses these and other pressing questions.

Raymond Haroun, MD, works through the evaluation of low back pain and radiculopathy.

The Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain-Revised and Current Opioid Misuse Measure are used to assess the risk of abuse of opioid analgesics.

The Alliance for Rational Use of NSAIDs has been launched to inform health care professionals, patients, and the public about using NSAID therapy safely and appropriately and balancing the benefits and risks.