Category: Pain Management

A physician’s pain poem

For many years I was not certain physical pain existed. I know this is rude. But I felt so little of it. I could only assume that other people did too. Like a child, with a skinned knee. “All better,” I would say, and they would look at me. Quizzically…

Arizona pain practice opens 2nd location

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Merging the wisdom of pain medicine and addiction medicine to optimize outcomes

Family lore recalls that my grandfather, succumbing to stomach cancer in the mid-1960s, “died addicted to morphine.” Decades before the AIDS crisis sparked the hospice and palliative care movements, the confluences of pain, dependence, and addiction we…

This is what a successful health care system looks like [PODCAST]

“If we are serious about supporting the optimal health and well being of our nations’ patients and physicians, we need to start believing and implementing the science across the public and private sectors. We need to recognize that at its core, t…

Pain management’s painfully fine line [PODCAST]

“I find that managing chronic pain can be a bit of a dance between myself and the patient. Sometimes a little bit of a compromise. I always tell my patients that pain is subjective but many things can contribute to pain — certainly stress, lack o…

The dangers of opioid addiction in the medical industry

The Joint Commission of Hospital Accreditation requires hospitals to ask the patient for their level of pain, just subjectively. They require we use a 10-point scale, from 0 for no pain to 10 being the worst pain ever. I knew instinctively that this wa…

The opioid crisis is real. But so is pain.

“I’m not impressed with his pain.” “I only give Norco if I see a bone sticking out.” “She says her pain is a 10/10 but …” On any given shift in the emergency room, I hear some version of these said by res…

Here’s what it’s really like to live in pain

I am a retired union plumber with the state of Illinois. I’ve had laparoscopic surgery on both knees, a lower back surgery that required two stainless rods, and I’m not sure how many screws, and three cervical fusions. I now suffer from neu…

Talking about opioids can lead to strong emotions

About three years ago, I was chatting about pain with a friend at a social function, and she told me she was taking a prescribed opioid for her chronic pain. I quickly got the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach that comes from discussing and prescribi…

The pain score must go. Here’s why.

One of the most important purposes of a physician is to alleviate pain and suffering. Pain is the most common symptom prompting an emergency department (ED) visit. Emergency physicians are responsible for managing both acute pain and acute exacerbation…