The Pain PT Blog

Suppressed Anger Leads to Greater Pain

One of the most important things I look at with people in chronic pain is their emotion regulation style. Remember the definition if pain is a "sensory and emotional experience." The more chronic the pain…
The Pain PT Blog

The Power of Placebo Injections(Mind) on the Knee(Body)

The power of fake knee injections is real and lasting in people with knee osteoarthritis(OA). See study link below. What is this? It's called the placebo, but it's really the power of your mind. It is…
The Pain PT Blog

Running is Actually Good for Your Osteoarthritic Knees

People have this belief that running is bad for their knees. And especially for knees with osteoarthritis. Well this systematic review of more than 1200 people over the age of 50 puts this belief to bed.…
The Pain PT Blog

13 Year Follow-up Study: MRI Findings with Chronic Back Pain

2020 study that looked at the association of MRI findings and long-term disability in chronic low back pain patients over a 13 year period. The goal was to assess whether long-term disability is associated…
The Pain PT Blog

Relax Into Instead of Resisting or Reacting To Chronic Pain

One of the biggest issues with chronic pain and other chronic health ailments is that the sympathethic fight or flight nervous system is commonly in overdrive. We need to learn to activate the parasympathetic…
The Pain PT Blog

No Particular Treatment is Better For Acute Low Back Pain

This was a systematic review for Acute low back pain. Basically nothing was shown to be better than the other. What it tells me is the body heals by itself, not by a certain treatment. We just need to…
The Pain PT Blog

Stress: The Biggest Cause of Health Complaints No One Addresses

Stress affects us in so many ways physically. Mental and emotional stress can be invisible to us as stress itself but it's clearly visible in the body as physical health symptoms. This is the most common…
The Pain PT Blog

Spinal Manipulation/Mobilization No Better Than Placebo

New study out- randomized clinical trial for chronic low back. The placebo in this study was a cold laser machine that wasn't even turned on!!! More evidence to show chronic pain is more likely influenced…
The Pain PT Blog

Autonomic Nervous System Implications with Pain

One of the biggest things with chronic pain that is not looked at enough is autonomic nervous system dysregulation. This means the fight or flight stressed out sympathetic nervous system is usually in…
The Pain PT Blog

Fear is the Fuel that Keeps the Chronic Pain Alive

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…