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Welcome to Pain-Topics.org...
Make the most of your time on the Internet. The mission of Pain Treatment Topics is to serve as a noncommercial resource for healthcare professionals, providing open access to clinical news, information, research, and education for a better understanding of evidence-based pain-management practices. Advertising is not accepted. Visit the Site Overview for an explanation of the various tabs and sections. See the Announcements Box below for special updates and news of importance.
> A Bonus of Opioid Therapy: Psychotherapeutic Effects
The OIH Paradox: Can Opioids Make Pain Worse? By: Peggy Compton, RN, PhD, Pain Treatment Topics, August 2008.
Vitamin D for Chronic Pain By: Stewart B. Leavitt, MA, PhD. Practical Pain Management (PPM). 2008(Jul/Aug);8(6):24-42.
Clinical Tools for Assessing Opioid Risks From: PainEdu.org and EmergingSolutionsInPain.com. See Details…> Monitoring Opioid Adherence in Chronic Pain Patients: By: L. Manchikanti, MD, et al. Pain Physician; 2008. See Details…> A Clinical Guide to Urine Drug Testing: By: Catherine A.Hammett-Stabler, PhD and Lynn R.Webster, MD. From: University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, Center for Continuing & Outreach Education; 2008. See Details…>
Biomarkers for Detecting Underreported Alcohol Use From: Current Psychiatry, September 2008. See Details...>
Healing Inspirations for Living with Pain Patient Medication Wallet Card This convenient document allows patients to briefly list vital personal medical history and to keep track of all medications. There are instructions for folding the document down to a wallet-size card. Patients can bring this during visits to the doctor, hospital, dentist, clinic, and pharmacy. See Details...> Vitamin D: A Champion of Pain Relief
Updated Methadone Safety Guidance
By: James D. Toombs, MD; March 2008.
By: Stewart B. Leavitt, MA, PhD; March 2008. Keeping Patients Safe from Iatrogenic Methadone Overdoses From: Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). February 14, 2008.
Thank you, for visiting, and we hope to see you here often.
Stewart B. Leavitt, MA, PhD; Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
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| If there are problems using this site, contact: Info@Pain-Topics.org Pain Treatment Topics is produced by Stewart B. Leavitt, PhD, Ltd.; Glenview, Illinois, USA. © , All rights reserved. |
This page was last updated 9/5/08 |
= Pain Treatment Topics exclusive. 
According to this 13-page evidence-based review of the clinical research, helping certain patients to overcome chronic musculoskeletal pain and fatigue syndromes may be as simple, well tolerated, and inexpensive as a daily supplement of vitamin D. This article is reprinted courtesy of the medical journal Practical Pain Management. 
Properly validated and applied assessment tools can sometimes be useful for evaluating current or potential risks of drug abuse, misuse, addiction, or diversion associated with prescribed opioid analgesia. These recent offerings describe clinical assessment tools for all healthcare providers treating patients with pain.
Alcohol use can complicate pain management and be hazardous when combined with analgesics and other medications. Patients can easily feign results on self-reports of alcohol use. Biochemical measures described in this paper are more objective, and are effective for detecting possible alcohol abuse in the many patients who underreport, or underestimate the severity of, their drinking behaviors.
Infants and children can and do feel pain comparable to pain in adults. Research into pediatric pain has grown rapidly, and numerous drug and non-drug therapies have been developed and tested in a variety of clinical populations and settings. However, inadequate prevention and relief of pediatric pain are still widespread. Documents in this new section focus on the most appropriate, cost effective, and evidence-based interventions, taking into account all components of the child’s pain experience and comfort needs. 
This latest update under the Pain-Topics.org “Education/CME Locator” tab includes nearly 90 changes: 37 new CME's were added and 52 listings were reviewed & revised. Whether or not you are looking for CME/CEU credits, these offerings generally provide very current and concise discussions of vital topics in pain management. 
While modern medicine can do much to allay the physical experience of chronic pain conditions, certain dimensions of pain can be difficult to treat and may benefit from other approaches. Resources in this section recommend how patients can learn to calm down, get centered, and take their individual journeys in overcoming adversity one step and one day at a time. 
Overcoming chronic pain may be as simple, safe, and inexpensive as an extra dose of vitamin D each day. This 6-page brochure explains in easy-to-understand language what vitamin D is and how it works. In also describes how inadequate vitamin D intake may play a role in aches and pains, as well as the benefits of vitamin D supplementation for relieving these symptoms. 
Methadone is a good choice for cancer pain and chronic noncancer pain, but special safety cautions must be observed as methadone's pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are unique among opioids. These documents discuss the critical safety issues and provide guidance for methadone analgesia dosing, as well as special instructions for patients.
While pain-care advocacy activities should take place throughout the year, the special national recognition in the United States that September receives marks an ideal time to launch or expand outreach efforts. There are many different things that you and/or your organization can do during this time to further awareness of pain and the need for better treatments.
This excellent article from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), by experts in the pain and addiction fields, discusses the neurobiology and clinical presentation of pain and its synergies with substance use disorders, presents methodical approaches to the evaluation and treatment of pain that co-occurs with substance abuse, and provides practical guidelines for the use of opioids to treat pain in individuals with histories of addiction.
Currents: Pain Management News & Research is the free monthly newsletter from the American Academy of Pain Management (AAPM). Each month, researchers and editorial staff at AAPM review more than 20,000 news stories, journal abstracts, and other resources to find those that are most relevant to pain management practitioners. AAPM membership is not required to subscribe. <
Pain Relief Connection is a monthly e-mailed newsletter from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cares About Pain program. It alerts readers to important current news and resources in the pain management field, and is a great time-saver for practitioners wanting to know about developments in the field. <
The American Pain Foundation (APF) released a new report outlining critical barriers to opioid prescribing for pain management, and calls for a more balanced consideration of the risks and benefits of these vital analgesics. A 16-page document summarizes key challenges and actionable solutions discussed by leading pain experts at a recent roundtable meeting.
This special issue of The Pain Practitioner journal focusing on fibromyalgia (FM) is designed to show exactly how real the syndrome is and how far it has come medically. An excellent compendium of 9 articles is authored by experts in the field. Topics include: advances in FM research, treatment options, treating comorbidities of FM, psychosocial aspects, and adopting integrative approaches that combine basics with innovative therapies.
