Research into the role of the brain in chronic pain
Two foods I love eating regularly (and that’s probably not a good thing for the latter) are tuna and ice cream. Thankfully, I have a firm grasp of the concept that some things just weren’t made for mixing.You might think this is a funny way to start a blog post on CRPS… but I promise you the Adelaide heat hasn’t fried my brain. I … [Read more...]
I read a disturbing review recently, about the state of the art treatment for persistent pain as being topical amitriptyline or removal of the offending tissue. If we were discussing low back pain most would agree these would be ridiculous treatment options. Imagine my crinkled nose of disdain to find this commentary in July 2012 regarding the … [Read more...]
Subacromial impingement syndrome is a common cause of shoulder pain that has multiple causes (subacromial bursitis to rotator cuff tendinopathy and full-thickness rotator cuff tears). Unfortunately, for almost half of people afflicted with this syndrome, medical treatment is not successful and they will continue to have shoulder pain 2 years … [Read more...]
Many futuristic movies and books depict humans with upgrades. Extra limbs or special abilities are common and some even create a hybrid of human and machine as in Robocop. This post will look at just how real that hybrid is and how technology and neuroscience are allowing this to happen.‘60 minutes’ in the US recently showed a segment … [Read more...]
Doctors still debate about treating chronic pain with cannabis. At present, the evidence of benefit[1] does not clearly outweigh the long-term risks of cannabis to mental health.[2] Cannabis contains many chemicals but only delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has significant pain-relieving properties. Unfortunately, THC is also responsible for the … [Read more...]
GET MOVING FOR CHRONIC PAIN RESEARCH! In conjunction with UniSA's Ride for Pain, and PainAdelaide 2013, we are giving YOU ALL the opportunity to GET INVOLVED. If you can’t make it to Adelaide in April, Ride for Pain anyway, by taking part in Ride for Pain at your place! Simply register here. It will cost you AUD$70. We will send you your … [Read more...]
I am thrilled that Dr David Butler; he of the custard tart; the Duke of Irreverence; the internationally acclaimed clinical revolutionary, has started a blog. I am chuffed that he showed me his first post before it went live. And I could not help but respond because it takes two to tango and I have a few thoughts on this issue myself.I have … [Read more...]
Thanks for your patience folks. PainAdelaide 2013 is now open for registrations. We have had to adjust the price slightly - it is $100 full registration and $65 for full time students (only 40 student places available), and you have the opportunity to pay a bit more if you earn big bucks or you think the programme is just too good to accept at this … [Read more...]
While reading Oliver Sacks’ new book ‘Hallucinations’ one would expect to encounter stories of visual, auditory, and perhaps olfactory misperceptions. What caught my attention however, were the stories of tactile hallucinations. One can perhaps feel reasonably safe when hallucinations are just images dancing in your field of vision, but … [Read more...]
There is nothing like a good thinking session to kick off the new year. In their new paper, just published in Pain Medicine, the dulcet tones of A/Prof Milton Cohen and partners have been transformed to print in what is a very interesting critique of the theory of pain as a disease. Or, as they put it, 'pain-as-a-disease'. It really is a tricky … [Read more...]
Brain imaging technology has become a big player in the world of pain research in the last 2 decades. In more recent years voxel based morphometry (VBM), which allows us to look at structural changes in the brain (specifically neuronal matter density) has produced some eyebrow raising research in chronic pain.It is this technology that produced … [Read more...]
We recognize things by name, so name is very important in order to know the world. Especially, one’s own name determines the existence of oneself by linking him/her to the social world. Thus own name is a special identifier for its owner. Reflecting this, psychologists have found that our own name has a great impact on mental processing. For … [Read more...]
I was unsure about that title, but I figured it's holiday season and I am going to talk about work I did with two Italians, and I know there are some Pink Floyd fans out there. Somewhere. If you have never heard of Pink or Floyd, then go with the subtitle - Space - temperature interactions in CRPS. Earlier this year, Alberto Gallace, Charlie Spence … [Read more...]
Imagine a cold winter day. Everything is covered by snow. You are getting ready to go out. Coat, scarf, wool cap, but on the table next to the main door there are your brand new gloves, one is blue the other one is red. How do we choose which glove corresponds to which hand? Most people automatically prepare, or imagine, moving one hand into the … [Read more...]
Well, what about those? Most researchers would suggest there aren't many of them. A quick review on PubMed will only give you a few useful hits, however it is estimated that about 70% of all people suffering from chronic nonspecific musculoskeletal pain manage to stay functioning at work. In actual fact this may in many cases be for the better, … [Read more...]
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