Researchers in a 2024 study of more than 15,300 patients with chronic low back pain found that patients’ pain drawings on a body chart “do not signify psychological distress.” Instead, they find that these drawings are more closely associated with physical symptoms, such as disability, pain duration, and pain intensity.
People in pain are more like to report more frequent perceived discrimination than those without pain, according to a 2022 study published in Pain. (Photo by Mike Jones)A 2022 study of 5,871 people in England found those with pain “are more likely to report discrimination than those without pain, and
Does having perceived discrimination increase the risk of chronic pain? Some researchers think so. Perceived discrimination is a person’s subjective experience of unfair treatment or negative attitudes based on their ethnicity, race, gender, age, body size, disability, and other characteristics. Discrimination is also defined as “process by which a member,
A 2018 systematic review on children and teens with back pain found “no convincing evidence that aspects of schoolbag use increase the risk of back pain in children and adolescents.” Published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the study pooled 69 trials with a total of more than 72,600
A team of international researchers found that exercise, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and multidisciplinary care could reduce chronic low back pain and disability for one year or longer. Although these treatments have at least a moderate level of certainty, about 68% of the studies have a high risk of
Whether it’s cardio or strength training, exercise has been shown to have moderate short-term to long-term effects for chronic low back pain. (Photo by Airman First Class John D. Partlow)Key takeaways Chronic low back pain stems from multiple causes, including biological, psychological, societal, and environmental factors. The current body of
Key takeaways University of Sydney researchers found one treatment (NSAIDs) to be effective at moderate-level certainty for acute low back pain Five treatments (exercise, spinal manipulation, taping, antidepressants, TRPV1 agonists) with statistically significant but small effects for chronic low back pain. All were compared to placebo. Some common treatments—like paracetamol,
Highlights Besides sensory receptors in the skin, context and environmental cues can affect how these receptors and the nervous system perceive touch, including massage therapy. There are three primary types of skin receptors: Mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, nociceptors. Each of these receptors have different types that detect specific types of stimuli, such
Key takeaways: There is no consistent or commonly accepted defintion of “deep tissue massage.” Different practitoners, schools, and businesses tend to have different definitions. Deep tissue massage is different from Swedish massage by how the massage is delivered, the clients’ goals, amount of pressure, and fewer amounts of oil or
Key takeaways: Prior plausibility: Evaluate how a claim aligns with established science. For example, “human energy fields” lack solid biological or physical foundations, making them low in plausibility—unlike massage’s impact on nervous and immune systems, which is far more plausible Methodology: Focus on the methods and results sections—they’re the least
Clinical equipoise means that clinicians and researchers honestly don’t know which treatment is better. Therefore, no researcher favors one treatment over another during the experiment design, which reduces the risk of bias. If one treatment is already known to be better, it would be unethical to give someone the inferior
Swedish massage often brings to mind a relaxing experience in a spa-like setting, maybe with white robes, low lighting, aromatherapy, and bliss. While the techniques do have roots in Sweden, it became a catch-all term for generic relaxation massage, typically slow gentle strokes with a lubricant, such as oil or