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The Mighty Sugar Pill

Researchers at Northwestern University recently published a study on the effects of a sugar pill on chronic back pain patients. About half the patients in the study experienced a 30% decrease in their pain intensity after taking it, similar to the relief from standard painkillers. Interestingly, the researchers were…

The Impact of Mindfulness Meditation on Pain

Are you aware of the benefits associated with meditation? The act of mindfulness meditation involves bringing one’s complete attention to the present moment–where it can influence many aspects of health and healing. A recent comprehensive review found that mindfulness meditation can directly impact the immune system…

What are the Strongest Pain Medications?

Many individuals believe that opioids are the strongest pain medications, but a recent study of chronic pain patients has showed that after 12 months of treatment, the opioid group and the non-opioid group had similar pain-related function. Additionally, the non-opioid group had a significantly lower pain intensity and…

How Well Do Antidepressants Work?

If you look at the advertising for antidepressants, you could conclude that antidepressants work well. However, a study recently reported a large meta-analysis that looked at the effectiveness of 21 antidepressants. The analysis did show that all of the antidepressants performed better than placebos, but unfortunately the effect…

Stress can increase Pain Sensitivity

Stress can have an impact on how much pain you have. Several studies have found that individuals become more sensitive to pain when they feel stressed. One study showed that fibromyalgia patients had increased hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to pain) and allodynia (pain response from non-painful stimuli) response…

Neurological Pain Signatures Differ in Individuals with Fibromyalgia

Neurological Pain Signatures Most people with chronic pain wish that there was some way that others could see their pain. Researchers have come a step closer to this goal by identifying the brain activity patterns related to chronic pain. MRI scans of patients with…

How to Clear Your Mind Before Sleeping?

To-Do List Most of us have experienced the frustration of not being able to fall asleep quickly. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation reports that about 40% of Americans have difficulty sleeping at least a few times each month. A recent study wanted to test…

Deep-Brain Stimulation for Pain and Depression

Up to now, deep-brain stimulation has used an invasive technique to regulate the neural activity in targeted areas. However, recent advancements have targeted deep brain tissue using electromagnetic fields without surgery. This means that one can target brain areas using electromagnetic waves. This type of intervention is receiving a…

What Fibromyalgia Treatments Will Work Best for You?

What fibromyalgia treatments will work best for you is currently more trial and error than science. Our goal is to identify which fibromyalgia patients will best respond to what treatments using sophisticated neuro-sensory testing. We want to use a simple neuro-sensory test that would eliminate the trial and error…