Is Lumbar Fusion Appropriate for Chronic Low Back Pain?
New research article titled: "Is lumbar fusion necessary for chronic low back pain associated with degenerative disc disease? A meta-analysis."
The short answer is "NO". The researchers came to this…
What Causes Pain To Become Chronic?
New study November 2020 that looked at 375 women coming to an inner city emergency department for acute pain. They followed these people for 3 months. 162 people still had pain at the end of 3 months…
Changes in the Brain Predict Chronic Low Back Pain a Year Later
This is one of those research articles I refer to often. It's titled: 'Predicting transition to chronic pain'. What is so interesting about this research is they did brain scans at the time of an acute…
Abnormal Amygdala Connections With Chronic Pain
The Amygdala is known as the emotional center of the brain. It has been implicated in anxiety and depression and now studies are clearly showing it is implicated with chronic pain. This study showed exactly…
What Happens in the Brain with Pain Catastrophizing?
Pain Catastrophizing is a 'tendency to magnify and ruminate about pain and having a helpless attitude toward actual or anticipated pain.' Studies show that people who catastrophize about their pain have…
Mindfulness Changes Brain Centers Linked With Chronic Pain
Article titled: "The Neuroscience of Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Alters the Brain and Facilitates Emotion Regulation" Some of the same areas of the brain that become weak (prefrontal cortex, etc) or overactive…
The Role of the Prefrontal Cortex in Chronic Pain
When looking at the brain's impact on chronic pain, we have to look to the prefrontal cortex. 2020 review of the research says: 'Its predominant role in aversive learning and memory puts the medial prefrontal…
