The Pain PT News

New paper just out looking at fear and its relationship to pain. Fear is the fuel for continued pain. Many times when we can cut out the fuel source we can cut out the pain. One of the keys is to learn…

Wanted to share two review studies that really show why I target the brain directly when treating chronic conditions- in this case Osteoarthritis. Both articles here are systematic review studies, which…

This new study really supports the approach I have here at The Pain PT- which is targeting the brain and nervous system for chronic pain relief. One of the biggest things I talk about is getting the limbic…

One of the things I teach with people in chronic pain is forgiveness- of others, of past hurts, and most importantly yourself and your symptoms. We have research showing how forgiveness leads to positive…

One of the principles I use with treating chronic pain is exposure therapy. This involves doing the very things that cause pain. If we can learn to do these things from a different mental perspective (move…

Self-efficacy is your belief in your own abilities to deal with various situations. Wanted to share a Journal of Pain 2018 review study that compiled data from 27 previous studies on self-efficacy and…

I see the Nocebo effect in so many of my chronic pain and chronic health patients. It's not talked about as much as it should, even though we have solid research it plays a big part in health symptoms.…

I have never forgotten a quote I read years ago that said: 'What you believe is what your life will be.' I wanted to share this study from Stanford which shows how beliefs directly impact physiology.…

Nice summary in link below by Dr. Siegel from Harvard about the power of the placebo. What is the placebo: Your beliefs. With chronic pain that doesn't go away, we know the brain has been shown to be a…

Irritable bowel, chronic widespread pain, chronic fatigue and related syndromes are prevalent and highly overlapping in the general population. This is the title of a new 2020 study, which just reaffirms…

Research evidence in 9 of 11 studies show that lifting with a flexed (bent over) spine is NOT a risk factor for low back pain. We need more studies but what the current research says falls in line with…

Great to see more and more awareness coming forth in our PT profession about the understanding of pain, how we think about it, and how we treat it. Recent Feb 2020 article titled: What have Pain Sciences…

Here's a recent 2019 study showing that Olympic level volleyball players who are playing with no symptoms have extensive "pathology" in the shoulder. The reason I share these studies is to educate people…

What better study to show the power of negative thinking (catastrophizing) and how it can contribute to chronic pain than looking at people who have had a whole knee joint replaced but continue to have…

New 2020 research study looked at 220 asymptomatic knees with MRI scans. What they found just adds more evidence to what we already know: structural 'abnormalities' do not cause pain in a lot of people. Here's…

In addressing chronic pain, we need to address the brain, not just the body. Scientific studies are pointing to that. Here's a few quotes from this 2019 review research paper. "Several studies have…

2019 study looking 1000 people with shoulder pain in the UK found that it is your BELIEF (self-efficacy) that determines if physiotherapy is successful or not. The most important predictor of outcome was…

Dr. Sarno was a pioneer M.D. who found the link between repressed emotions and physical symptoms. I find emotions really interesting as we know so many people have learned to suppress and repress uncomfortable…

Psychosocial factors play a big part in ongoing chronic pain, though you don't have that many doctors asking patients about these things. Working with people in pain for over 20 years, you hear all sorts…