Chronic pain

Chronic pain persists for extended periods, usually over three to six months, beyond the normal healing time. It can stem from various conditions and affects physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Unlike acute pain, chronic pain may persist long after initial injuries have healed, impacting daily life and functioning.

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The Top 3 Causes for Butt Pain

The idiom “pain in the butt” is a common one, typically used when someone or something is particularly annoying; however, butt pain is very real, and when it happens to you, it’s not only annoying but can also be severely painful and disabling. There are three common causes we frequently see in the clinic in…read more

Xiphoidalgia: Should We Cut Out the Xiphoid?

I’ve had a disconcerting brush with what I called “ectomy” pain treatment through the years. My first experience was meeting a patient with testicular pain who had them removed to try and help his agony. This procedure, of course, didn’t work, so that’s why he came to see me. More recently, a patient came in with many…read more

Fiber and Joint Pain? Keep Eating Those Wheaties!

Mother always said to eat your Wheaties, and a new study on knee pain may give us some insight into the relationship between fiber and joint pain. The answer seems to be that fiber can decrease body weight and keep inflammation under control. Before I share the study findings, let’s review how weight and inflammation can lead…read more

Hip Labral Tear? Causes of Pain After Hip Arthroscopy

On this page: Increases in hip arthroscopy rates Portal syndrome Other things that can cause hip pain Patient story of hip pain after surgery The animated GIF below may drive you a bit nutty if you watch it long enough, but it’s crucial nonetheless. Arthroscopic hip surgery to treat a labral tear is frequently billed…read more

What Is This Doctor Thankful for on Thanksgiving? New CRPS Treatments

One of the worst diseases you can have is something called CRPS, or complex regional pain syndrome. Think of CRPS like bringing a can of gasoline to your pain bonfire. Or maybe better said, CRPS is like an accelerator stuck to the floorboard of the pain car without any working brakes. It’s awful. This year…read more

Statin Cholesterol Drugs Poison Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers

Americans have an exercise problem. I remember a trip to Italy with my family a few years back and seeing an 80-year-old woman haul her groceries back from the store. I remember these active seniors of my childhood, but this Italian woman would have been such an out-of-place sight in most US suburbs that she…read more

Is Chronic Inflammation Causing Us to Age Faster?

A couple of weeks ago, I covered a study on aging that gave us a glimpse into one possible reason energy production in our cells tends to decrease as we get older. The answer was found in our mitochondria, the power supply of our cells. As a particular protein level declines, it may be leading…read more

What Percentage is “Useless Orthopedic Surgery” Based on Research?

This is a post that some orthopedic surgeons will hate but that needs to be written. This week, I decided to try and estimate the number of orthopedic surgeries that were still being done despite research showing they didn’t work. When I was done, I realized that a staggering 53% of orthopedic surgeries being performed…read more
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