We owe much of our current understanding and treatment of pain to many scientists, clinicians, and philosophers in the past centuries. From René Descartes’ origin of the specificity theory of pain to Dr. Ronald Melzack and Dr. Patrick Wall’s gate control theory of pain, pain science and treatment has been
While most research addressing chronic pain is mostly based on Western, more educated, and more developed countries, a growing number of research is focusing on indigenous populations worldwide. Not only these research add more knowledge to our understanding of pain, they can help formulate healthcare and government policies in serving
Recently, a reporter from NPR interviewed a health expert, Esther Gokhale, on why indigenous populations do not have much back pain compared to people in industrialized nations. Gokhale’s answer is that people in indigenous cultures have a J-shape spine. (1) “That S-shaped spine is actually not natural. It’s a J-shaped spine
Imagine being a child in the hospital with several weeks of treatment ahead of you before you can go home. Doctors and nurses enter your room multiple times a day, dressed in isolation gowns, gloves, and masks. They visit you about your medication, progress, and upcoming procedures. Then they leave.
If there is an excuse for me to travel — to get me out of my southern California bubble — then going to conferences, such as the 2016 Manual Therapy Conference (MTC), would be one. I have only attended such conferences for manual therapists twice, and that was with the
During and after last month’s San Diego Pain Summit, my brain was overloaded with information that changed some of my own beliefs and perceptions about pain. For those who could not get enough of the pain science and manual therapy, the 2016 Manual Therapy Conference (MTC) in New Westminster, B.C.,
Some personal trainers and physical therapists believe that certain exercise modalities are “better” than other types of modalities or exercises for working with clients and patients with low back pain. However, years of data and research indicate that these ideas may not be very true. Two 2016 Cochrane Reviews conducted
Are planks overrated with their how-long-can-you-hold challenges? Let’s take a closer look at what the current evidence says about planks and core strength. “These are all great exercises to use in the initial training stages for beginners. But I move past them as quickly as possible into using more challenging/interesting
It has been a week since the second San Diego Pain Summit is over, yet I am still tingling with the experiences, knowledge, and camaraderie that I made with old and new colleagues and friends. Walking into Marina Village at the San Diego Bay area was like stepping back in time
Nearly a year ago, I had a wonderful experience attending, reporting, and tweeting the first San Diego Pain Summit. Although it drizzled that weekend that may have made some of Vancouverites think if they had really left home in British Columbia, everyone seemed to enjoy the learning and company. I
This is a continuation from Part 1. Recently, I heard this short story on NPR that may sound all too familiar some of you. Even I had experienced it a few times in my life. You might even know a friend, a family member, or a coworker who experienced it. Even if
Since the 1950s, pain science has evolved quite rapidly and grew more complex, moving away from the Cartesian model of pain that has been the foundation of pain treatment for over 300 years. Current research integrates biology, neuroscience, psychology, genetics, sociology, and other disciplines of science and humanities into understanding