Last week I described a graduated movement therapy for chronic pain about which Dr. Lorimer Moseley published a study in Neurology.  I’ve asked Dr. Moseley to help us better understand this exciting work.
Dr. Moseley got a PhD from the University of Sydney in 2001 and is currently the Nuffield Medical Research Fellow at Oxford University, United […]

A reader Rochelle asks about a difficult relationship with her grown daughter.
When someone in a family has chronic pain, there are special challenges that come up for the whole family.  We’re looking at some of these on the Friday series about pain and the family.  Unfortunately, having pain doesn’t free you from all the other problems […]

Family Issues #3
On Fridays, I’ve been having a series of posts about family issues and your pain. Pain conditions affect not only you, but also your family… your husband or wife… your children… your Mom and Dad… even your friends.
These posts are excerpts from a handout for family members (and friends) of patients with pain […]

Here’s a very interesting new study of a movement therapy for pain.  Dr. Moseley at Oxford studied a specific sequence of thinking about movements and actual movements that seems to lessen pain and increase function.  This treatment is very exciting work for several reasons:

it lessens pain
it increases functioning
it helps in difficult-to-treat conditions like CRPS (RSD) […]

A reader Micah asks:
Is it considered chronic pain when the pain is cyclic? I have a friend who has a neurological disease that only flares up every 6 months or so. Even though he’s not in pain, he often thinks about it returning.
Yes, I’d consider that chronic pain, even thought it’s intermittent.  It sounds like […]

Family Issues #2
Today’s post is the second in our Friday series about family issues and your pain. As we discussed last Friday, pain conditions affect not only you, but also your family. Your husband or wife… your children… your Mom and Dad… even your friends.
These posts are excerpts from a handout for family members (and […]

Today, I’m continuing the topic of Monday’s post:  depression.  Patients with pain often have symptoms of depression.  You have to cope with the pain itself, but also all the negative consequences of having a pain disorder, and these stresses can cause depression to creep in.  Many patients think, “Oh, I should be able to cope with this,” and […]

In this post and Wednesday’s post, I’ll look with you at pain and depression.  Depression is one of the very serious issues related to pain.  At times, with serious depression, there can even be suicidal thinking.  In writing this post, I’m trying to get this serious issue on the table, so we can prevent depression, and treat depression if it’s […]

Or… Family Issues #1
I come to talk with family members of patients with pain in different ways. Sometimes family members bring my patients to appointments because it’s difficult to drive. Or, a wife or mother might call to schedule an appointment for her husband or child. And many times, I invite the family member into […]

We’ve talked about relaxation exercises here, but the amenities below take easing your stress to new levels:

At the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, there’s a relaxation butler, who’ll provide you with the perfect pillow, herbal tea and calming music before bed.
You can call for the bath sommelier at the Fairmont Chicago, to draw your bath […]