The Pain PT News

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…

One of the least talked about things in the medical community is how emotions play a role in somatic symptoms. Many of these bodily symptoms don't have a physical or structural cause. This study was review…

A little article in TIME magazine to remind us that our emotions have the capacity to create physical symptoms in the body. If you have ruled out structural and organic causes with your physical symptoms,…

This study published June 7, 2019 was a systematic review looking at multiple studies and the role of emotions in somatic (bodily) symptoms. This is the first review to look at the combination…

How common are getting X-ray and MRI's of your back? How about a brain MRI? Well, one day hopefully we will include brain MRI's with acute low back pain. Why? Because certain brain activation patterns…

Natural healing happens with time no matter what treatment you have, unless your pain goes chronic. I have known this for awhile as a PT (physiotherapist). I can't take credit for healing, the body heals…