Neurological Conditions Now Leading Cause of Chronic Illness

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

The number of people living with neurological conditions such as migraine, diabetic neuropathy, epilepsy, stroke and dementia has risen significantly over the past 30 years, making it the leading cause of chronic illness worldwide, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet Neurology.

An international research team estimates that over 3.4 billion people – about 43% of the global population – had a neurological condition in 2021, replacing cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of poor health.

“The worldwide neurological burden is growing very fast and will put even more pressure on health systems in the coming decades,” said co-author Valery Feigin, MD, Director of the National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neuroscience at Auckland University in New Zealand.

“Yet many current strategies for reducing neurological conditions have low effectiveness or are not sufficiently deployed, as is the case with some of the fastest-growing but largely preventable conditions like diabetic neuropathy and neonatal disorders. For many other conditions, there is no cure, underscoring the importance of greater investment and research into novel interventions and potentially modifiable risk factors.”

A total of 37 disorders affecting the brain and nervous system were included in the study. Collectively, the nerve disorders are responsible for 443 million years of healthy life lost due to illness, disability or premature death, known as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).

Tension-type headaches (about 2 billion cases) and migraines (about 1.1 billion) are the two most common neurological disorders, while diabetic neuropathy is the fastest-growing one. Painful stinging or burning sensations in the nerves of the hands and feet are often the first symptoms of diabetes.

“The number of people with diabetic neuropathy has more than tripled globally since 1990, rising to 206 million in 2021,” said co-senior author Liane Ong, PhD, from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at University of Washington. “This is in line with the increase in the global prevalence of diabetes.”

Over 80% of neurological deaths and disability occur in low- and middle-income countries, with western and central sub-Saharan Africa having the highest DALY rates. In contrast, high-income countries in the Asian Pacific and Australasia regions had the lowest rates.

“Nervous system health loss disproportionately impacts many of the poorest countries partly due to the higher prevalence of conditions affecting neonates and children under 5, especially birth-related complications and infections,” said co-author Tarun Dua, MD, Unit Head of WHO’s Brain Health unit.

“Improved infant survival has led to an increase in long-term disability, while limited access to treatment and rehabilitation services is contributing to the much higher proportion of deaths in these countries.”

Medical providers specializing in neurological care are unevenly distributed around the world, with wealthy countries having about 70 times the number of specialists as low-income ones.

Researchers say prevention needs to be a top priority in addressing the growth of neurological conditions. Some disorders, such as stroke and chronic headache, are potentially preventable by lowering risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol use.

The study was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Researchers Find No Clear Link Between Weather and Pain

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

The Greek philosopher Hippocrates in 400 B.C was one of the first to suggest that changes in the weather can worsen pain conditions. Since then, a large body of folklore and personal anecdotes have reinforced that belief – although the science behind it is mixed, at best.

A large new systematic review – a study of studies – is once again throwing cold water on the common belief that chilly, rainy weather can trigger muscle and joint pain.

“There is a common perception that there is an increase of musculoskeletal symptoms such as back pain, hip pain or arthritic symptoms during certain types of weather,” said lead author Manuela Ferreira, PhD, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Bone and Joint Research, the University of Sydney. “Our research challenges that thinking by showing that come rain or shine, weather has no direct link with most of our aches and pains.”

Ferreira and her colleagues started out by reviewing over 1,100 studies involving weather and pain, rejecting most because they were small or poor quality. Only eleven studies met their criteria for inclusion. An analysis of those studies found no sign that humidity, air pressure, temperature or precipitation significantly raise the risk of a pain flare from rheumatoid arthritis or low back and knee pain.

But they did find evidence that a combination of warm temperatures and low humidity is associated with a higher risk of a pain flare in people with gout, a form of arthritis that causes severe pain and swelling in the joints of the feet and lower legs.

The study was published in the journal Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.

“Although changes in weather conditions are frequently described by patients as triggers for pain and other symptom exacerbation, they do not appear to be significant risks for knee, hip, low back pain, or headache exacerbation, and have a small influence in symptom exacerbation of gout disease,” researchers concluded.

A 2017 study in Australia had similar findings, showing no association between back pain and changes in temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind direction or precipitation. Damp weather appeared to make people more aware of their pain, but the symptoms disappeared as soon as the sun came out – suggesting there’s a psychological cause.

Another recent study in the UK found only a modest association between weather and pain. The Cloudy with a Chance of Pain study collected data from 10,500 people who recorded their daily pain levels on a smartphone app for over a year. The GPS location of their phones was then compared to local weather conditions. Participants reported feeling more pain on days with low barometric pressure – and the wet and windy weather that usually comes with it.

Hippocrates may or may not have a point, but researchers say people in pain would be better off paying less attention to the weather and more on getting treatment.

“When seeking pain prevention and relief, both patients and clinicians should focus on how to best manage the condition, including weight management and exercises, and not focus on the weather and let it influence treatment,” says Ferreira.

U.S. Healthcare System Isn’t Ready for Surge of Disabled Seniors

By Judith Graham, KFF Health News

The number of older adults with disabilities — difficulty with walking, seeing, hearing, memory, cognition, or performing daily tasks such as bathing or using the bathroom — will soar in the decades ahead, as baby boomers enter their 70s, 80s, and 90s.

But the health care system isn’t ready to address their needs.

That became painfully obvious during the covid-19 pandemic, when older adults with disabilities had trouble getting treatments and hundreds of thousands died. Now, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health are targeting some failures that led to those problems.

One initiative strengthens access to medical treatments, equipment, and web-based programs for people with disabilities. The other recognizes that people with disabilities, including older adults, are a separate population with special health concerns that need more research and attention.

Lisa Iezzoni, 69, a professor at Harvard Medical School who has lived with multiple sclerosis since her early 20s and is widely considered the godmother of research on disability, called the developments “an important attempt to make health care more equitable for people with disabilities.”

“For too long, medical providers have failed to address change in society, changes in technology, and changes in the kind of assistance that people need,” she said.

Among Iezzoni’s notable findings published in recent years:

Most doctors are biased: In survey results published in 2021, 82% of physicians admitted they believed people with significant disabilities have a worse quality of life than those without impairments. Only 57% said they welcomed disabled patients.

“It’s shocking that so many physicians say they don’t want to care for these patients,” said Eric Campbell, a co-author of the study and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado.

While the findings apply to disabled people of all ages, a larger proportion of older adults live with disabilities than younger age groups. About one-third of people 65 and older — nearly 19 million seniors — have a disability, according to the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire.

Doctors don’t understand their responsibilities: In 2022, Iezzoni, Campbell, and colleagues reported that 36% of physicians had little to no knowledge of their responsibilities under the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, indicating a concerning lack of training. The ADA requires medical practices to provide equal access to people with disabilities and accommodate disability-related needs.

Among the practical consequences: Few clinics have height-adjustable tables or mechanical lifts that enable people who are frail or use wheelchairs to receive thorough medical examinations. Only a small number have scales to weigh patients in wheelchairs. And most diagnostic imaging equipment can’t be used by people with serious mobility limitations.

Iezzoni has experienced these issues directly. She relies on a wheelchair and can’t transfer to a fixed-height exam table. She told me she hasn’t been weighed in years.

Among the medical consequences: People with disabilities receive less preventive care and suffer from poorer health than other people, as well as more coexisting medical conditions. Physicians too often rely on incomplete information in making recommendations. There are more barriers to treatment and patients are less satisfied with the care they do get.

Discrimination in Healthcare

Egregiously, during the pandemic, when crisis standards of care were developed, people with disabilities and older adults were deemed low priorities. These standards were meant to ration care, when necessary, given shortages of respirators and other potentially lifesaving interventions.

There’s no starker example of the deleterious confluence of bias against seniors and people with disabilities. Unfortunately, older adults with disabilities routinely encounter these twinned types of discrimination when seeking medical care.

Such discrimination would be explicitly banned under a rule proposed by HHS in September. For the first time in 50 years, it would update Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a landmark statute that helped establish civil rights for people with disabilities.

The new rule sets specific, enforceable standards for accessible equipment, including exam tables, scales, and diagnostic equipment. And it requires that electronic medical records, medical apps, and websites be made usable for people with various impairments and prohibits treatment policies based on stereotypes about people with disabilities, such as covid-era crisis standards of care.

“This will make a really big difference to disabled people of all ages, especially older adults,” said Alison Barkoff, who heads the HHS Administration for Community Living. She expects the rule to be finalized this year, with provisions related to medical equipment going into effect in 2026. Medical providers will bear extra costs associated with compliance.

Also in September, NIH designated people with disabilities as a population with health disparities that deserves further attention. This makes a new funding stream available and “should spur data collection that allows us to look with greater precision at the barriers and structural issues that have held people with disabilities back,” said Bonnielin Swenor, director of the Johns Hopkins University Disability Health Research Center.

One important barrier for older adults: Unlike younger adults with disabilities, many seniors with impairments don’t identify themselves as disabled.

“Before my mom died in October 2019, she became blind from macular degeneration and deaf from hereditary hearing loss. But she would never say she was disabled,” Iezzoni said.

Similarly, older adults who can’t walk after a stroke or because of severe osteoarthritis generally think of themselves as having a medical condition, not a disability.

Meanwhile, seniors haven’t been well integrated into the disability rights movement, which has been led by young and middle-aged adults. They typically don’t join disability-oriented communities that offer support from people with similar experiences. And they don’t ask for accommodations they might be entitled to under the ADA or the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.

Many seniors don’t even realize they have rights under these laws, Swenor said. “We need to think more inclusively about people with disabilities and ensure that older adults are fully included at this really important moment of change.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues.

Patients With Irritable Bowel Syndrome Have High Rates of Fibromyalgia

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

A large new study has found high rates of fibromyalgia in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), adding to a growing body of evidence linking gut bacteria to chronic pain disorders. IBS patients were also more likely to have chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

The study, recently published in the journal Biomedicines, looked at more than 1.2 million IBS patients hospitalized in the U.S. over a three-year period. They found that the prevalence rate of fibromyalgia in the IBS patients was 10.7 percent, about five times higher than the fibromyalgia rate (1.4%) in the general adult population.

Fibromyalgia is a poorly understood condition characterized by widespread body pain, headaches, fatigue, insomnia and mood disorders; while IBS causes abdominal pain, cramps, bloating, gas and diarrhea. Gut bacteria has been associated with both IBS and fibromyalgia, but the exact mechanism of action remains unclear.

“This is yet another example where ailments in the gut are linked to ailments elsewhere in the body and mind,” said senior author Yezaz Ghouri, MD, an assistant professor of clinical medicine and gastroenterology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. “As we continue to learn more about how gut health effects health elsewhere it is important that clinicians look for and manage somatic comorbidities in IBS patients.”

Fibromyalgia and CFS are known as “somatic” disorders because patients who have them often experience anxiety and depression – a tendency perhaps explained about the lack of effective treatments for their physical symptoms.

“Because IBS patients have higher prevalence of somatic comorbidities such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, identifying and treating these disorders can improve their quality of life,” said lead researcher Zahid Ijaz Tarar, MD, a fellow in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Missouri School of Medicine.

“Earlier identification of comorbidities is valuable to inform treatment strategies, including consulting other specialties such as rheumatology and psychiatry to improve the overall health outcomes in IBS patients.”

In addition to fibromyalgia, the research team found that hospitalized IBS patients were also significantly more likely to be white and female.  Less than one percent (0.42%) had a CFS diagnosis – a small percentage to be sure, but still higher than CFS rates in the general population (0.06%).

The high rates of fibromyalgia and CFS in IBS patients has led to speculation that poor diets or antibiotics may cause an imbalance of “bad” bacteria in the gastrointestinal system, allowing toxins to leak into the bloodstream and cause other health problems.

A recent study found that Klebsiella aerogenes, a bacterium that causes white blood cells to produce excess amounts of histamine, can trigger a painful immune system response.

Another study found that women with fibromyalgia have strikingly different types and amounts of bacteria than those without fibromyalgia. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, a “good” bacterium that is normally abundant in the human gut, was found to be depleted in fibromyalgia patients. Other bacteria associated with IBS, CFS and interstitial cystitis were found to be abundant in fibromyalgia patients, but not in the healthy control group.  

Fascia: An Overlooked Cause of Chronic Pain

By Dr. Adam Taylor, Lancaster University

We are constantly reminded about how exercise benefits our bone and muscle health or reduces fat. However, there is also a growing interest in one element of our anatomy that is often overlooked: our fascia.

Fascia is a thin casing of connective tissue, mainly made of collagen – a rope-like structure that provides strength and protection to many areas of the body. It surrounds and holds every organ, blood vessel, bone, nerve fibre and muscle in place. And scientists increasingly recognise its importance in muscle and bone health.

It is hard to see fascia in the body, but you can get a sense of what it looks like if you look at a steak. It is the thin white streaks on the surface or between layers of the meat.

Fascia provides general and special functions in the body, and is arranged in several ways. The closest to the surface is the superficial fascia, which is underneath the skin between layers of fat. Then we have the deep fascia that covers the muscles, bones and blood vessels.

The link between fascia, muscle and bone health and function is reinforced by recent studies that show the important role fascia has in helping the muscles work, by assisting the contraction of the muscle cells to generate force and affecting muscle stiffness.

Each muscle is wrapped in fascia. These layers are important as they enable muscles that sit next to, or on top of, each other to move freely without affecting each other’s functions.

Fascia also assists in the transition of force through the musculoskeletal system. An example of this is our ankle, where the achilles tendon transfers force into the plantar fascia. This sees forces moving vertically down through the achilles and then transferred horizontally into the bottom of the foot - the plantar fascia – when moving.

Similar force transition is seen from muscles in the chest running down through to groups of muscles in the forearm. There are similar fascia connective chains through other areas of the body.

When Fascia Gets Damaged

When fascia doesn’t function properly, such as after injury, the layers become less able to facilitate movement over each other or help transfer force. Injury to fascia takes a long time to repair, probably because it possesses similar cells to tendons (fibroblasts), and has a limited blood supply.

Recently, fascia, particularly the layers close to the surface, have been shown to have the second-highest number of nerves after the skin. The fascial linings of muscles have also been linked to pain from surgery to musculoskeletal injuries from sports, exercise and ageing. Up to 30% of people with musculoskeletal pain may have fascial involvement or fascia may be the cause.

A type of massage called fascial manipulation, developed by Italian physiotherapist Luigi Stecco in the 1980s, has been shown to improve the pain from patellar tendinopathy (pain in the tendon below the kneecap), both in the short and long term.

Fascial manipulation has also shown positive results in treating chronic shoulder pain.

One of the growing trends for helping with musculoskeletal injuries is Kinesio tape, which is often used in professional sports, although evidence for its effectiveness is mixed. It is also being used to complement the function of the fascia, and is used to treat chronic lower back pain where fascial involvement is a factor.

Fascia in Disease

Aside from getting damaged, fascia can also provide paths that infections can travel along, within muscles.

The spaces between fascial layers are usually closed (think of cling film being folded over), but when an infection occurs, germs can spread between these layers. This is a particular problem in the neck, where there are several layers of fascia for infections to travel along. In severe cases, surgery is often needed to remove the dead tissue and save the healthy remaining tissue.

One of the primary examples of fascia functioning in health, and the challenges its dysfunction can bring, is seen in the common complaint plantar fasciitis, which causes pain on around the heel and arch of the foot.

This incredibly common ailment affects 5-7% of people, rising to 22% in athletes. It is recognised as an overuse injury, causing the thickening of the fascial bands on the soles of the feet that help give the arch support.

Fascia can also be implicated in more serious health conditions, such as necrotising fasciitis. This is a rare but serious bacterial condition that can spread through the body quickly and cause death.

The condition is almost always caused by bacteria, specifically group A Streptococcus or Staphylococcus aureus. The initial infection comes from a cut or scratch, and then the bacteria travel along the fascia to other areas away from the initial site of access and multiply in the ideal environment afforded by the warm recesses of the body.

One reason fascia has been overlooked in health and disease is because it was difficult to see using current imaging technology. More recently, though, MRI and ultrasound imaging have been shown to be beneficial in visualising fascia, particularly in musculoskeletal conditions such as plantar fasciitis, and pathological changes in the fascia of the shoulder and neck.

With the growing interest in fascia and the growing understanding of its contribution to musculoskeletal health, it’s sensible to suggest that we look after it in the same way we do with the rest of the musculoskeletal system - by using it. Simple techniques like foam rollers and stretching are beneficial in increasing mobility, but there is still much to learn about our fascia and the role it plays in our day-to-day health.

Adam Taylor, PhD, is a Professor and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre at Lancaster University. His research interests lie within the field of osteoarthritis and the degeneration of cartilage and bone.

This article originally appeared in The Conversation and is republished with permission.

Childhood Trauma Raises Risk of Chronic Pain in Adults by 45%

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

People who experienced neglect or physical, sexual or emotional abuse as children are significantly more likely to have chronic pain as adults, according to a large new analysis. Individuals who had adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were 45% more likely to report chronic pain in adulthood than those who did not have childhood trauma.

“These results are extremely concerning, particularly as over 1 billion children – half of the global child population – are exposed to ACEs each year, putting them at increased risk of chronic pain and disability later in life,” says lead author André Bussières, PhD, an Assistant Professor at the School of Physical & Occupational Therapy at McGill University. 
 
“There is an urgent need to develop targeted interventions and support systems to break the cycle of adversity and improve long-term health outcomes for those individuals who have been exposed to childhood trauma.”  

Bussières and his colleagues reviewed 75 years of research involving over 826,000 people. Their findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal European Journal of Psychotraumatology, adds to the growing body of evidence showing an association between ACEs and chronic pain.

ACEs may affect a child directly through physical, sexual or emotional abuse, or neglect – or indirectly through exposure to environmental factors like domestic violence, living with substance abuse, or parental loss.

Physical abuse during childhood had the strongest association with chronic pain and pain-related disability. The odds of having chronic pain were also higher if a person experienced multiple ACEs, either alone or combination with indirect ACEs. The research does not prove that ACEs cause chronic pain, only that there’s an association.

“Our findings suggest ACE exposure is associated with the most common and costly chronic pain conditions, including back and neck pain and other MSDs (musculoskeletal disorders), which account for the highest total health care spending compared to other health conditions,” researchers said.

“People with ACEs tend to have a higher chronic disease burden, barriers to treatment engagement, and greater health care utilization in adulthood. Adult patients exposed to ACEs may not be achieving optimal health outcomes due to the physiological and psychological effects of toxic stress. While the relative contributions of these mechanisms are not yet well understood, emerging evidence links ACEs to changes in genetic expressions that affect structural and functional changes in the brain and clinical phenomena in adulthood.”

Still unclear is the role that ACEs play in specific pain-related conditions. Previous studies have linked childhood trauma to an increased risk of headache disorders, fibromyalgia and lupus, as well as mood and sleep problems.

Most Americans and Canadians Use OTC Drugs and Self-Care for Pain Relief

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Most Americans and Canadians who experience pain prefer over-the-counter drugs, exercise and bed rest over prescription pain medication, according to a large new survey. A surprising number of respondents said they do nothing or simply accept their pain.  

The online survey, led by a research team at Ontario’s Western University, asked over 4,100 adults in 2020 what types of treatment, medication or self-care methods they use to deal with or prevent pain. Respondents were given ten different pain management techniques to choose from.

The survey findings, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, show that most people use a combination of methods for pain relief, along with a healthy dose of stoicism. Over half said they use OTC pain relievers, often in combination with self-care techniques such as exercise, bed rest or physical therapy.

Over 41% selected “just live with pain” and 10% chose “do nothing” – which essentially amounts to pain acceptance.

Only one in four (24%) said they use prescription pain medication. Not surprisingly, respondents who said they had high pain levels were over four times as likely to use a prescription drug  

SOURCE: INNOVATION IN AGING

The responses from Americans and Canadians were similar, with one notable exception. Americans were twice as likely than Canadians to turn to alcohol to dull their pain, with just under 4% of Canadians using alcohol as a pain management strategy, compared to almost 8% in the U.S. Alcohol use jumped to 21% for those with the highest levels of pain in both countries.

"Our research shows that using alcohol to treat pain is somewhat common, unfortunately. Previous research has shown that is not only ineffective at treating pain, but it can actually be counterproductive," said lead author Anna Zajacova, PhD, a demographer and sociology professor at Western University. "Our study also indicates that there is likely a lot of unmet need for better treatment options for people to manage their pain."

Zajacova and her colleagues noted that high alcohol use in the U.S. may be a reflection of more limited access to healthcare than in Canada, which has a national health system.

"What we learned from this survey is that people aren't necessarily just visiting their doctor to manage their pain, and it's important to understand the non-medical and non-pharmacological strategies that people are using, for better or for worse," said Zajacova.

A major weakness of the study, which the authors acknowledge, is that they did not differentiate between acute, short-term pain and chronic pain. They also didn’t ask if the prescription pain medication used was an opioid or non-opioid.

WHO Releases First Guideline for Chronic Low Back Pain

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released its first-ever guideline for managing chronic low back pain, recommending treatments such as exercise, physical therapy, chiropractic care and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Chronic low back pain — also known as “non-specific low back pain” — is defined as pain that persists longer than three months, with symptoms that cannot be accounted for by a structural spinal problem or disease process such as arthritis.

Although lower back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide – affecting about 619 million people – there has been little certainty about how to treat it. Almost all of the clinical trial evidence reviewed by WHO’s guideline development group was considered low or very low quality, a persistent problem.in many medical guidelines dealing with pain.

The lengthy 274-page guideline takes a dim view of some commonly used therapies for LBP, such as muscle relaxants, anticonvulsants, steroids, opioids, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and injectable anesthetics – treatments that are primarily used in high-income countries. WHO recommends a more holistic approach to LBP, using therapies that are affordable and accessible to more people.

"Addressing chronic low back pain requires an integrated, person-centred approach. This means considering each person's unique situation and the factors that might influence their pain experience," Dr. Anshu Banerjee, WHO Director for Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Ageing, said in a press release. "We are using this guideline as a tool to support a holistic approach to chronic low back pain care and to improve the quality, safety and availability of care."

WHO recommends that adults with chronic LBP start with treatments that are the least invasive and least potentially harmful. The values and preferences of patients should also be considered, as they are more likely to adhere to therapies they consider helpful.  

Recommended Treatments for Chronic LBP

• Patient education and counseling

• Exercise or physical therapy

• Acupuncture or dry needling

• Spinal manipulation (chiropractic care)

• Massage

• Cognitive behavioral therapy or mindfulness

• NSAIDs

• Topical cayenne pepper

The guideline states that opioid analgesics “should never be used as a stand-alone treatment” for chronic LBP. When opioids are used alongside other therapies, the lowest dose should be prescribed and only for a short duration, according to WHO.

Recommendations against routine use are also made about many other pharmaceuticals, including antidepressants, anticonvulsants, muscle relaxers, glucocorticoids (steroids), weight loss drugs, and injectable anesthetics such as lidocaine or bupivacaine.  

No recommendations are made about benzodiazepines, cannabis or acetaminophen (paracetamol), primarily due to lack of evidence, but also because of potentially harmful side effects. Cayenne pepper is the only herbal remedy recommended by WHO.

The guideline does not address surgical procedures such as spinal fusions and spinal cord stimulators, or invasive procedures such as epidural injections.

WHO’s 25-member guideline development group included a broad range of clinical experts from around the world. Among them is Roger Chou, MD, a researcher and longtime critic of opioid prescribing who heads the Pacific Northwest Evidence-based Practice Center. Chou is a co-author of the 2016 and 2022 CDC opioid guidelines, and has collaborated on several occasions with members of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP), an anti-opioid advocacy group. Chou let his Oregon medical license lapse in 2022.

One of the clinical trials reviewed by WHO’s guideline group is a controversial Australian study – known as the OPAL study -- that found low dose opioids gave little relief to patients with short-term back and neck pain. The OPAL study has been panned by critics because the treatment period only lasted six weeks and used a formulation of oxycodone that would not normally be used in clinical practice. Nevertheless, it’s been cited as evidence that “prolonged opioid use” is ineffective.

In 2021, WHO updated its guideline on the treatment of chronic pain in children, recommending that prescription opioids only be used for children who are dying or seriously ill. An earlier WHO guideline that recommended more pediatric use of opioids was withdrawn in 2019, after two U.S. congressmen accused the United Nation’s health agency of being “corruptly influenced” by opioid manufactures.  

Neuroplasticity: How the Brain ‘Rewires’ Itself

By Hilary Diefenbach, University of Colorado School of Medicine

High-profile sports like football and soccer have brought greater attention in recent years to concussions – the mildest form of traumatic brain injury.

Yet people often do not realize how common concussions are in everyday life, and seldom does the public hear about what happens in the aftermath of concussions – how long the road to recovery can be and what supports healing. Concussions are important to understand, not only for recovery, but also for the insights that the science of recovery can bring to brain health.

I am a speech language pathologist and an instructor in physical medicine and rehabilitation. I specialize in brain injury rehabilitation, with experience ranging from coma recovery to concussion care.

Treating problems tied to head injuries is complex. This is, in part, because it is not possible to directly examine the brain of a living person and because every brain injury is unique. Many aspects of health, both pre- and post-injury, affect recovery. In treating brain injuries, I work to translate this specialized science for each patient and their unique situation.

Brain Injuries Take Many Forms

While people commonly think of athletes when it comes to concussions, sports-related concussions are just one type of mild brain injury seen in health care practice. Concussions can also result from abusive head trauma, blast exposure, car accidents and falls.

The severity of a brain injury is diagnosed based on symptoms, brain imaging and a neurologic exam. Concussions are characterized by a lack of clear tissue damage seen on brain images like an MRI and by the length of time that a person loses consciousness – defined as between zero to 30 minutes.

In addition, a significant portion of concussions may not be identified or formally diagnosed at all. Even if you do not lose consciousness at the time of an injury, you could still have a concussion. Confusion, sensitivity to noise and lights and even changes to sleep and mood are common symptoms. But often, these signs may be misunderstood as signs of stress or shock during traumatic events, such as a car accident. Some people mistakenly assume that if they don’t lose consciousness, they haven’t experienced a concussion.

People who don’t feel that they have returned to normal after a concussion may need further treatment. Many report chronic symptoms that linger beyond the typical three-month recovery – a condition known as post-concussive syndrome. Around 10% of those who suffer a concussion experience post-concussive syndrome, although differences in how this problem is defined and recorded leads to highly variable estimates across studies.

So how does having a concussion affect the brain over time?

The links between concussion and dementias such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or, more generally, the relationship between a brain injury early in life and later brain diseases, are not yet clear. This uncertainty should not stop people from finding a path forward and taking strides to support their own brain health.

Brain ‘Detours’

After recovering from a brain injury, patients want to understand how to minimize further risk to their brain, which is all the more important since prior injury puts the brain at greater risk for further injuries.

Researchers and medical providers have learned that after injury the brain can change and “rewire” itself at a cellular level over the life span – a process called neuroplasticity. Brain cells, called neurons, join to form electrical pathways that power activity within the brain.

In addition to other repair processes, neuroplasticity supports damaged brain areas to reconnect injured routes or find “detours” to restore brain function. This means that in recovery, the brain can literally find a new way – or make one – to regain critical abilities.

Neuroplasticity also offers insight into why each brain injury is unique. Following a concussion, therapists focus on detailed evaluations and patient interviews to identify affected areas and to design an intervention.

While the general map of brain regions and their associated functions is standard, individual variability is common. Brain injuries from the same cause of injury, via similar force and intensity of impact and affecting the same location of the brain, can lead to very different symptoms in different people.

While the brain is fully developed by the time people reach their early 20s, neuroplasticity continues well beyond this point. Researchers have seen neuroplastic change during the life span in both the white and gray matter that form brain tissue. The remapping of brain pathways that occurs in late-life injuries, such as a stroke, is one strong piece of evidence to suggest there may be no specific “end date” to the brain’s capacity to restore its internal connections.

Importantly, fuller density of brain cells is thought to create a buffer that is protective against damage due to injury and aging. This extra “bandwidth” is referred to as cognitive reserve. Broadly speaking, higher levels of baseline cognitive reserve have been linked to genetics, educational attainment and health factors.

Neuroplasticity is one process that research shows is critical to maintaining these reserves throughout life.

Building Brain Health

Cognitive reserve is crucial to brain health both before and after a concussion. Studies show that higher levels of cognitive reserve may lessen your risk for prolonged problems after a concussion.

In addition, injuries that occur during childhood and late life may present different challenges in recovery linked to the brain’s cognitive reserves and overall health. For this reason, screening tools for concussion often probe a person’s medical history prior to the event.

Keeping up cognitive reserves likely maintains healthy brain connections that can help us age better. Bilingualism, maintaining an active social life and even going to museums are linked with lower rates of dementia. These studies support that brain activity is good for brain health and it is triggered by many things, including thinking, learning and engaging with the world around us.

Just as there is no one-size-fits-all brain injury, there is also no single path toward brain health.

Advanced brain imaging to detect concussions is not available in standard clinical settings, so clinicians rarely have clear road maps for rehabilitation. But getting optimal sleep, avoiding excessive drinking or other toxic substances and leading a physically and mentally active life are core tenets of brain health.

Finally, the brain does not exist in isolation. Its health is connected to other parts of the body in many ways. Therefore, doctors recommend treating medical conditions that directly affect our brain health and that reduce brain aging, such as high blood pressure,sleep apnea,migraines and even hearing loss.

Brain health is unique to each person, and brain injury treatment depends on your individual lifestyle and health risks. Strategies to treat specific symptoms vary and should be designed with the help of medical specialists. But brain health and cognitive reserve provide a common direction for everyone. Living an active lifestyle – physically, mentally and socially – can drive neuroplasticity and maintain the brain.

Studies of healthy people offer insights into how individual brains are shaped through everyday activities. For instance, research finds that expert musicians have denser sound-processing regions in their brains. The brains of cab drivers have greater development of spatial memory areas. Even military fighter pilots have been shown to have denser tissue in regions connected to strategic thinking.

These startling discoveries teach us that what we do every day truly matters to brain health. For all of these reasons, brain researchers commonly use the phrase “neurons that fire together, wire together” to describe how the brain’s connections change shape associated with repeated patterns of the electrical firing of brain activity.

While many questions remain to be answered, it is well established that the brain can be shaped throughout life. With this knowledge in mind, we can tend to it with greater care.

Hilary Diefenbach, MA, is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist at the Marcus Institute for Brain Health and an Instructor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Hilary specializes in brain injury rehabilitation for adults.

This article originally appeared in The Conversation and is republished with permission.

People in Pain Feel More Stigmatized and Lonely

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

A new global study of people living with pain found that nearly half feel stigmatized and regularly feel lonely. Women, people of color, and the LGBQ+ community are significantly more likely to feel they are treated differently, not believed, or discriminated against because of their pain.

The consumer health company Haleon conducted an online survey of over 18,000 people in 18 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and the UK. It’s the fifth time since 2014 the company has conducted such a survey, which forms the basis for the Haleon Pain Index (HPI), which is “designed to give a voice to those experiencing pain.”

The findings from this year’s survey show that attitudes about pain in a post-pandemic world have grown more judgmental and less tolerant, regardless of where people live. Worldwide, 42% of people in pain said they regularly experience loneliness; with serious loneliness felt by 38% of people in mainland China, 33% in Australia and 32% in the UK.

“Everyday pain is a health issue that can easily be dismissed or trivialized. Many don’t realize its effects can be much worse than the symptoms themselves,” said Linda Papadopoulos, PhD, a psychologist and consultant. “The result of loneliness and mental health impact caused by lack of empathy and being treated differently is only worsening. As a society, we need to improve empathy and understanding in a world that is continuing to harden to these issues.”.

The HPI found that people who already experience bias and discrimination are the most affected by hardening views on pain. 

• 58% of women in pain said they were treated differently, not believed or discriminated against, versus 49% of men. Stigmatization was highest among women in India (74%), Saudi Arabia (74%), Brazil (74%), and mainland China (61%). 

• 59% of people of color said they felt stigmatized because of their pain, versus 48% of white people. This trend is highest in Brazil (71%), Poland (64%), USA (64%), and the UK (60%) 

• 44% of people who identify as LGBQ+ fear that others will make assumptions about them and their pain, compared to 32% of heterosexuals. This trend is highest in India (61%), USA (54%), Canada (49%) and Australia (48%). 

The study also found a striking generational gap in the way people in pain are treated, with younger patients often struggling to make their pain known.

Worldwide, 70% of people in their late teens or 20’s (Gen Z) felt stigmatized because of their pain, compared to just 40% of Baby Boomers aged 60 or older. Levels of stigmatization against Gen Z were highest in India (80%), USA (79%) and UK (74%).

Even just talking about pain can be problematic for younger people. 45% of Gen Z respondents said pain was too much of a taboo for them to speak out, compared to 35% of Baby Boomers.   

“While pain is a universal human experience, resulting in loneliness and stigma for many, its impact varies considerably between social groups, with the most marginalized amongst the worst affected. Our ambition is to break down the barriers to achieving better everyday health for everyone – irrespective of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability and other factors,” said Lisa Jennings, Head of Haleon’s global over-the-counter products. 

Despite differences in experience, there is broad agreement among people on the need for a more personalized and compassionate view of pain. Over two-thirds of respondents (68%) said more empathy was needed to address bias and prejudice.

Notably, 69% wished that doctors and 62% wished that pharmacists were better trained on how individual pain is for different patients.

How are you treated by your pharmacist? If you are a pain patient in the United States, please take a few minutes to participate in PNN’s survey on drug shortages and opioid prescribing by clicking here.

The Surprising Connection Between Pain and Politics

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

“I feel your pain. I feel your pain.”

Bill Clinton was mocked by political pundits for saying that to an AIDS activist while running for president in 1992. Whether he was sincere or not, it was a public display of empathy that helped get Clinton elected.

Clinton may have been prescient about a connection between pain and politics. A large new study suggests that pain could have played a surprising role in the 2020 presidential election. Researchers found that liberals with high levels of pain sensitivity were more likely to vote for Donald Trump, while conservatives who were highly sensitive to pain were more likely to vote for Joe Biden.

Huh? I was skeptical. Initially, so was lead researcher Spike W.S. Lee, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.     

“We were honestly not expecting to see this kind of cross-aisle effects of pain sensitivity,” Lee said in a news release. “When we first found it, we thought it might be a fluke. That’s why we ran a replication study. We found it again. We ran extended replications and follow-up studies. We kept finding it.”

Lee and his colleagues ran seven different studies involving over 7,000 U.S. participants to see how pain sensitivity affects our moral and political views. Does it heighten them and make us hold more tightly to them? Or does the pain experience make us more sensitive and accepting of what other people believe?

Lee started thinking about that as a research topic during a dental appointment. He is very sensitive to pain, and asked that a freezing procedure be used to numb his mouth before his teeth were cleaned. Lee found himself enjoying the experience so much that he wondered what having no sensitivity to pain would do to someone’s moral compass.

His research found that liberals with higher pain sensitivity were more likely to endorse traditional conservative values such as loyalty and authority; while pain sensitive conservatives showed more support for traditional liberal values such as caring and fairness.   

The pattern continued when participants were asked about their 2020 voting intentions. As the graphic shows below, liberals (blue line) said they were more likely to vote for Trump if they had more pain sensitivity. Similarly, conservatives (red line) were less likely to vote for Trump over Biden if they were more sensitive to pain.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

The pattern not only held up for how participants actually voted in the presidential election, it influenced their support for a diverse group of liberal and conservative politicians, such as Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Mitch McConnell and Bernie Sanders.

Pain sensitivity also significantly changed the way liberals and conservatives thought about hot button issues such as immigration, global warming, unions, the free-market system and Obamacare.

Does that mean pain sensitivity makes people confused about their political views? Not necessarily. Lee says the more likely explanation is that the pain experience gives people more empathy for others and a greater willingness to look at issues from both sides.

In an age of polarized and often heated politics, that’s not a bad thing. Maybe Bill Clinton was on to something.

The study appears in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: Attitudes and Social Cognition.

‘Make Peace with Pain’: How Chronic Pain Patients Can Reduce Suicidal Thoughts

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Suicide is an important but difficult subject in the pain community, as many people with poorly controlled pain contemplate ways to end it. In a PNN survey of nearly 6,000 pain patients, nearly half said they considered suicide because their pain was poorly treated.

“Without my opioid medicines I will be completely bedridden in never ending agony,” one patient said. “I fear I will be forced into suicide like so many before me because living in never ending unrelieved pain is not a life worth living.”

“I have been severely tapered to a very inadequate level of pain medication and am in so much pain that I am essentially in bed 24/7. I no longer have a life. It is merely an existence and I completely understand why chronic pain patients commit suicide,” said another.

“I was raised to believe suicide was a sin, but I can't say for sure how I'll feel about suicide in a few years if this pain I'm in continues to worsen,” another patient wrote.

Fortunately, most pain sufferers don’t act on those suicidal thoughts, but some lose hope and sink into despair. According to a 2018 estimate, about a quarter of all opioid overdoses are suicides or suicide attempts.

How can pain sufferers avoid suicide ideation? A recent study published in Pain Medicine suggests that pain acceptance – “making peace with pain” – can help reduce suicide risk.

“We know for a fact that when people are in pain — and a lot of pain in particular — it makes them think about killing themselves because they don’t want to be in pain forever,” says lead author Willie Hale, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology at University of Texas at San Antonio. “We know there’s a direct relationship here between these two things: The more pain you have, the more you’re going to have in terms of suicidal cognitions.”

Hale and his colleagues surveyed 207 patients with chronic pain, mostly active-duty military, veterans or family members. Respondents were asked about their pain severity, attitudes about suicide, and whether they thought they were a burden to others.

The study is based on the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, which holds that suicidal thoughts or ideation often begin when individuals feel rejected by others and believe they are a burden. When combined with a reduced fear of death and a suicide “capability,” those thoughts can turn into suicidal behavior.

Hale says when people learn to accept their pain and make peace with it, feelings of burdensomeness and thoughts of suicide diminish. The pain won’t go away, but acceptance will help people push through the pain and participate in activities that make life enjoyable again. More meaningful activity results in more social connectivity -- helping to reduce feelings of rejection and burdensomeness.

“If you can move people from making no peace with their pain to just being a little bit okay with it, that cuts their suicide risk in half, and if you can get them to a high level of pain acceptance, it gets rid of it altogether,” said Hale. “Even if you can’t actually, functionally do anything to make their pain better, if you can just get them to make peace with it, they’re going to be less likely to kill themselves.”

Of course, pain acceptance will not improve access to opioid medication or prevent someone from being tapered to an ineffective dose. The best way to prevent suicide – not examined in this study – is to give patients appropriate pain relief.

“I attempted suicide as the only means of pain relief left available to me,” a person in pain told us. “Not because I was sad or depressed, but because I simply could not live another 10 minutes with no relief in sight.”

Childhood Trauma and Neglect Increase Risk of Headache Disorders

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

People who experience traumatic events during childhood, such as physical abuse, sexual abuse or neglect, are more likely to have headache disorders as adults, according to a large new study. The research adds to a growing body of evidence linking adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to headaches and migraines in adults.

“Traumatic events in childhood can have serious health implications later in life,” says lead author Catherine Kreatsoulas, PhD, of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Our meta-analysis confirms that childhood traumatic events are important risk factors for headache disorders in adulthood, including migraine, tension headaches, cluster headaches, and chronic or severe headaches. This is a risk factor that we cannot ignore.”

Kreatsoulas and her colleagues reviewed 28 studies that examined the childhood histories of nearly 155,000 people in 19 countries. Their findings are published Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

About a third of the participants (31%) reported at least one traumatic childhood event. Of those, 26% were diagnosed with a primary headache disorder, compared to 12% of participants who said they experienced no childhood trauma. People who had four or more traumatic events during childhood were more than twice as likely to have a headache disorder than those who had one ACE.

Researchers also examined different types of childhood trauma. Events categorized as “threat” traumas included physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, witnessing or being threatened with violence, and serious family conflicts.

Events categorized as “deprivation” traumas included childhood neglect, economic adversity, divorce or separation, parental death, alcohol or substance abuse, and living in a household where someone has a mental illness, chronic illness, disability or is incarcerated.

Threat traumas were linked to a 46% increase in headache disorders, while deprivation traumas were linked to a 35% increase in headaches. Among threat traumas, physical and sexual abuse were associated with a 60% increased risk for headaches. Among deprivation traumas, neglect was linked to a nearly three-fold increased risk for headache disorders.

“Threat or deprivation traumas are important and independent risk factors for headache disorders in adulthood,” said Kreatsoulas. “Identifying the specific types of childhood experiences may help guide prevention and treatment strategies for one of the leading disabling disorders worldwide. A comprehensive public health plan and clinical intervention strategies are needed to address these underlying traumatic childhood events.”

Due to the stigma and sensitive nature of childhood trauma, researchers say it’s likely the number of ACE cases is under-reported by adults.

 “Despite this, the robustness of these findings cannot be underappreciated as the studies composing this meta-analysis represent diverse global regions and the findings supersede cultural contexts,” they said.

The research does not prove that ACEs cause headaches -- it only shows an association.

Previous studies have also linked childhood trauma to an increased risk of chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and lupus, as well as mood and sleep problems.

Experimental Fiber Implants Block Nerve Pain with Light

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed experimental fiber implants that could potentially be used to deliver pulses of light from inside the body to inhibit nerve pain. Unlike other implants, the hydrogel fibers are flexible and stretch with the body during movement.     

“Current devices used to study nerve disorders are made of stiff materials that constrain movement, so that we can’t really study spinal cord injury and recovery if pain is involved,” said co-author Siyuan Rao, PhD, now an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. “Our fibers can adapt to natural motion and do their work while not limiting the motion of the subject. That can give us more precise information.”

In tests on laboratory mice with genetically modified nerves, researchers used the fiber implants to deliver blue light to the sciatic nerve, which activated the animals’ hind limb muscles.

When pulses of yellow light were used, the light inhibited neuropathic pain in the mice.

For now, MIT engineers see the fibers primarily as a research tool that can help them study the causes and potential treatments of peripheral nerve disorders in animals.

Credit: Sabrina Urbina Villafranca

Neuropathic pain occurs when peripheral nerves are damaged, resulting in tingling, numbness and stinging sensations in the hands and feet. About 20 million Americans suffer from peripheral neuropathy, which can be caused by diabetes, chemotherapy, lupus, HIV, Lyme disease, celiac disease and many other disorders.

“Now, people have a tool to study the diseases related to the peripheral nervous system, in very dynamic, natural, and unconstrained conditions,” said co-author Xinyue Liu, PhD, who is now an assistant professor at Michigan State University. 

The MIT team’s study, recently published in the journal Nature Methods, grew out of a desire to expand the use of optogenetics -- a technique in which nerves are genetically engineered to respond to light. Exposure to specific light waves can either activate or inhibit a nerve, giving scientists a new way to study how nerves work. 

Scientists have used optogenetics in animals to trace nerves involved in a range of brain disorders, including addiction, Parkinson’s disease, and mood and sleep disorders.

Until now, optogenetics has primarily been used in the brain, an organ that lacks pain receptors, which allows for the relatively painless implantation of rigid devices. The MIT team wondered if optogenetics could be expanded to nerves outside the brain to study peripheral nerve pain.  

Because peripheral nerves undergo constant pushing and pulling from adjoining muscles and tissues, they needed more flexible devices that would not constrain movement or cause tissue damage.  

The new optical fibers are made with hydrogel — a rubbery mix of polymers and water – that is soft and flexible. The fiber has two layers; a core and an outer shell that funnel light through the fiber without escaping or scattering. 

When implanted in mice, researchers say the animals were still able to run freely on an exercise wheel. After two months, the fiber was still resistant to fatigue and could transmit light efficiently to trigger muscle contractions. 

“We are focusing on the fiber as a new neuroscience technology,” Liu says. “We hope to help dissect mechanisms underlying pain in the peripheral nervous system. With time, our technology may help identify novel mechanistic therapies for chronic pain and other debilitating conditions such as nerve degeneration or injury.”

Genetic Variations Involved in a Third of CRPS Cases

By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is one of the worst and most baffling of pain conditions. It usually starts after an injury to an arm or leg, with the skin in the affected area becoming warm, red and painful to touch. Most cases are mild and people recover after a few months, but in rare cases the condition grows worse, resulting in intense nerve pain that can spread and last for years.

Why do some people develop CRPS, while others get better? A small new study in the UK suggests that a genetic variant may be responsible for about a third of CRPS cases.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge took blood samples from 84 patients enrolled in the CRPS-UK Registry to look for variations in certain genes known as single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs for short. Their DNA was compared to a control group of patients with chronic pain from fibromyalgia and low back pain.

Their findings, recently published in the Journal of Medical Genetics, show that an SNP in 4 genes (ANO10, P2RX7, PRKAG1 and SLC12A9) was “more common than expected” in patients with CRPS for at least a year (CRPS-1) than it was in the fibromyalgia/back pain group.

In all, 25 of the 84 patients (30%) with CRPS-1 had the variations in at least 1 of the 4 genes. None of the variations was found in the control group.

Interestingly, men with CRPS were more likely to have the variations (57%) than women (24%), although the sample sizes are so small the discrepancy will need to be confirmed in a larger study. In real life, women are more likely to have CRPS than men.

“This raises the possibility of different mechanisms of disease in males and females in CRPS-1 and that therapeutic responses may also be influenced by sex,” wrote lead author C. Geoffrey Woods, a clinical geneticist at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research.  “Our data support an underlying genetic predisposition to CRPS-1 in up to a third of cases, with this effect being most prominent in males.”

There may be a biological explanation for the findings, because the ANO10, P2RX7and SLC12A9 genes are found in immune cells of the peripheral nervous system, which becomes inflamed by CRPS.

All 4 genes are also expressed in macrophages — a type of white blood cell involved in the immune response of healthy people. This suggests that variations in those 4 genes may be what triggers CRPS, which is also known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).

CRPS/RSD is difficult to treat and there is no known cure. Some patients have found relief through Scrambler therapy and ketamine infusions.