Research into the role of the brain in chronic pain
Last Sunday, April 29th, saw the first ever UniSA Ride for Pain. The day can only be described as a rip-roaring success. The stats were impressive – over 550 riders, 400 of whom took on the whole 100km and most of those conquering the mighty Corkscrew Challenge – but it was the terrific stories that capture the essence of what really was a … [Read more...]
As we have discussed in part 1 and 2 of this series of posts, there is some evidence that classical conditioned responses play a role in chronic pain (Flor and Birbaumer 1994; Schneider, Palomba et al. 2004; Klinger, Matter et al. 2010). We have discussed the work of Flor and others showing that injury response systems (such as motor and autonomic) … [Read more...]
It has been about a month since I wrote a post reflecting on this pain I have in my shoulder. I must say I was overwhelmed by the many offers of diagnostic and treatment advice - it left me both chuffed and a little apprehensive about revisiting it.To start, let me say that my shoulder is less painful than it was. I have been a very good … [Read more...]
Around this time last year, our research at The University of Nottingham unexpectedly stumbled into the media spotlight: “Mind tricks may help arthritic pain; Illusions can halve the pain of osteoarthritis” the headlines read. See the original BBC news article complete with video here.They were referring to our MIRAGE multisensory … [Read more...]
In the previous blog Learning and chronic pain Part 1 we discussed a model for a way in which a neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus or CS) when repeatedly paired with a biologically significant stimulus (the unconditioned stimulus or US) might come to elicit a conditioned response (or CR) that is similar to the response to the biologically … [Read more...]
The way we perceive and respond to various circumstances or ‘stimuli’ changes over time. This is called (drum roll) learning. Implicit learning is the term we give to learning that occurs outside of consciousness or awareness. Examples of implicit learning include non-associative learning (habituation and sensitisation) and associative learning … [Read more...]
Adelaide’s recreational cyclists are being urged to help raise awareness about chronic pain by joining the University of South Australia’s Ride for Pain on Sunday April 29. The ride, which includes an option for cyclists to conquer the notoriously painful Corkscrew Road in the Adelaide Hills, is the brainchild of UniSA’s Professor of … [Read more...]
Summary My PhD research investigated the role of cervical spine Range of Motion in the recovery from Whiplash Associated Disorders (WAD). This formed part of my work on a large RCT investigating conservative treatments for WAD [2].In clinical practice, Health Care Professionals attach value to measurements of cervical spine Range of Motion … [Read more...]
The Pain Science Division (PSD) of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) was founded in 2008, through the dedicated work of a small group of Canadian PTs. Diane Jacobs brought Dave Walton, Nick Matheson, Sebastian Asselbergs, Eric Matheson and me together, initially forming the Canadian Physiotherapy Pain Science Group(CPPSG). In 2005 we … [Read more...]
Lorimer grew a mo. To help promote men's health. It was during this time that he, and his mo, gave a talk at TEDx. Here it is. httpvh://youtu.be/gwd-wLdIHjs … [Read more...]
Some of you have no doubt heard the phrase ‘pain doesn’t exist until you feel it’. This phrase refers to the dependence that pain has on being conscious. One might suggest that we would be better placed to solve the pain problem if we first solved the consciousness problem. What is the consciousness problem? Well, it is what many … [Read more...]
Serge Marchand, Ph.D. and Isabelle Gaumond, Ph.D. Women and men are different in many ways; some of these differences are obvious and some not so intuitive. For example, pain is sexist. The burning question is who between men and woman is more tolerant to pain? For most people, it seems clear that women are more tolerant or at least they … [Read more...]
Professor Michael Cousins took some time to read and comment on 'Is chronic pain a disease in its own right'. It was so good that we didn't want it to get lost at the end of the comments section so we have made it a post in its own right. Here he is:Recognition of chronic pain as a chronic disease is not only a key element of the National … [Read more...]
I recently received an email from Vanessa Milne who is doing Post Graduate Studies in Pain Science at University of Sydney with the who’s who of Australian pain stuff - Nicholas, Cousins, Siddall, Keast.... an impressive line up that. Anyway, Professor Michael Cousins is leading the way in an impressive and ambitious attempt to put pain on … [Read more...]
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