2334 Archived Updates for PainScience.com

Like good footnotes, update logging sets PainScience.com apart from most other health websites and blogs. It’s fine print, but important fine print, in the same spirit of transparency as the editing history available for Wikipedia pages. I log any change to articles that might be of interest to a keen reader.

Update Stats — 2334 updates to 178 articles & books in 2184 days, breaking down into 443 major updates, 580 medium, 489 minor (use the button below to include/exclude the medium and minor updates). That includes all updates since about mid-2016 when I started logging all updates of interest to readers. From 2008-2016, I logged only major updates to my most popular articles, some of which are included here. But there were also many thousands of unlogged updates from the early 2000s to 2016.

hide 1069 non-major updates

May 20, 2022 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update, muscle balance chapter — Cited Guan, a good review of all inter-limb asymmetry evidence.
May 14, 2022 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a section about adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 (AMPD1) deficiency.
May 13, 2022 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — New section about using botox to treat unwanted contractions.
May 13, 2022 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Added a minor but neat point about how much joint fluid volume is lost in frozen shoulder.
May 11, 2022 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major upgrade, differential diagnosis chapter — Added more detail and several more uncommon diagnoses to consider.
May 10, 2022 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Added a little information about supplementation and especially vitamin D.
May 10, 2022 — Stuck in My Throat — Added an update and some thoughts on what I’d do differently if I had to wrestle with globus again.
May 4, 2022 — Vitamin D for Pain — Science update, citing Bolland and Bislev on the (undetectable) value of vitamin D supplementation for healthy patients.
Apr 23, 2022 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Removed some excessively speculative claims that serious neuroinflammation might be driven by perceived threats (stress), as opposed to actual ones (serious injury and illness).
Apr 21, 2022 — Pain is Weird — New section —
Apr 21, 2022 — Chronic Pain as a Conditioned Behaviour — New section about amnesia as analgesia.
Apr 18, 2022 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Improvements, hamstring stretching chapter — Just a bunch of miscellaneous clarifications and minor elaborations.
Apr 18, 2022 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New introduction, alignment chapter — Added a new introduction that makes this chapter officially the main posture chapter in the book. It now explains how poor posture supposedly causes back pain, which was previously missing, and is important context for other chapters (like hamstring stretching).
Mar 30, 2022 — The Science of Pain-Killers — Added brief summary of Arcoxia (etoricoxib).
Mar 28, 2022 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Added some context about simple, “static” magnet therapy to the pulsed electromagnetic field therapy section.
Mar 25, 2022 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Minor science update: added an interesting citation about the infectious roots of multiple sclerosis (Bjornevik).
Mar 25, 2022 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Science update — Added an interesting citation about the infectious roots of multiple sclerosis (Bjornevik).
Mar 25, 2022 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added an interesting citation about the infectious roots of multiple sclerosis (Bjornevik).
Mar 15, 2022 — Pain is Weird — Science update, corrected an old citation — Replaced a citation to Beecher (on pain in wounded soldiers) with the correct original citation and a better summary. See Beecher.
Mar 12, 2022 — The Science of Pain-Killers — Minor science update, added a citation to Aidar about the effect of ibuprofen on recovery from intense exercise.
Mar 12, 2022 — Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — Added an important clarification and citation about Nachemson’s famous flexion loading chart.
Mar 12, 2022 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Minor science update, added a citation to Aidar about the effect of ibuprofen on strength and fatigue.
Mar 12, 2022 — Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response — Editing and a few minor clarifications and additions.
Mar 8, 2022 — Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — Added discussion of Nachemson’s 1981 flexion loading chart, plus a small but important section about osteoporosis: “Your back isn’t fragile … unless it literally is.”
Mar 8, 2022 — Icing for Injuries, Tendinitis, and Inflammation — Added a small but useful cautionary tale about the consequences of accidentally icing excessively — by falling asleep with an ice pack on!
Mar 5, 2022 — What Works for Pain? — New sidebar: “The price of honesty and humility.”
Mar 5, 2022 — Ten Trillion Cells Walked Into a Bar — A little bit of editing, some new colour about microbiology, and a new citation about the role of biotensegrity in cells and molecules.
Mar 5, 2022 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a section, “‘Big Suppla’ is now evidence-based debunking.”
Mar 5, 2022 — Modality Empires — New section: “The price of honesty and humility.”
Mar 5, 2022 — We Are Full of Critters — Added a section, “Microscopes versus telescopes.”
Mar 5, 2022 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Minor addition — Added “nostril yanking therapy” as an example of pseudoscience in massage.
Mar 5, 2022 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor addition — Added “lack of personal experience” to the list of reasons professionals fail with back pain treatment.
Mar 5, 2022 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Trivial update — A trivial update, but fun, using ice cream headaches as an interesting example of referred pain that is directly relevant to headache.
Mar 4, 2022 — The Myth of Healing Hands — Expanded a little on the concept of a “deepity” and how it applies to matter/energy equivalence in energy medicine.
Mar 4, 2022 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Minor update — Added neuropathy as a risk factor for strain.
Mar 3, 2022 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Added sub-topic — Discussed the potential value of neural mobilization in strain rehab.
Feb 24, 2022 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added important disclaimer about adulteration and contamination, regarding concerns about the accuracy of a key paper on that topic.
Feb 24, 2022 — Neurodynamic Stretching — New section: “A humbler goal: maybe it’s just nerve exercise?”
Feb 17, 2022 — What Works for Pain? — Added some comic relief: the dead-or-pretending meme, the you-keep-using-that-word meme, plus a sidebar, “What people think I do for a living….” (which is fun, but also goes a little deeper).
Feb 12, 2022 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor addition — Added tibiofibular pain to the list of possible causes of shin pain.
Feb 12, 2022 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor improvement — Added significantly more information about proximal tibiofibular joint injury. Not many readers need it, but it will be helpful for those who do.
Feb 11, 2022 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — More information, orthotics — Technically this is a new section, but I’ve created it just by transplanting and elaborating on the brief dismissal of orthotics that was in the “hall of shame” section for years. It is more substantive, but it says essentially the same thing.
Feb 11, 2022 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor upgrade, pronation — Just a couple elaborations and refinements, based on new risk factor evidence.
Feb 11, 2022 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New chapter, peak breaking force — This is a chapter that is entirely about a single citation, one interesting experiment: Napier et al.
Feb 11, 2022 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Major upgrade, risk factors — This is a huge upgrade to this section, which is now both more interesting and consequential than I expected when I started it. I’ve added significantly more detailed and referenced information about risk factors.
Feb 10, 2022 — What Works for Pain? — New section: “Actually using best practices in musculoskeletal medicine,” plus a bunch of editing throughout the article. Almost ready for prime time!
Feb 5, 2022 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — No change in substance, but a bunch of editing and improvements to formatting and presentation.
Jan 29, 2022 — Does Posture Matter? — Updated, ergonomics section — Added a minor rant about the amount of nonsense in ergonomics.
Jan 27, 2022 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Science update, the first on this topic in ages, thanks to a shiny new review — which is, unfortunately, a classic example of garbage-in-garbage-out junk science (see Gaertner).
Jan 25, 2022 — Counterstimulation — New section: “Counterstimulation as the obscure seed of truth powering a lot of quackery.”
Jan 15, 2022 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Added new section, “Is acupuncture FDA approved?”
Jan 13, 2022 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Added footnote, “woke up with it” neck pain — Explained and justifed my opinion that morning onset cricks may often be related to the combination of chilling neck skin at night.
Jan 7, 2022 — Ozone Therapy for Pain — Improved the back pain section significantly. My first version was a little too ranty and dismissive. It is now more thoughtful and thorough and looks a little closer at the rationale. Still ranty! But the ranting is now a sauce instead of the main dish. Also, I paywalled the back pain section — the first example of a small members-only section, just one key piece of an article reserved for members, and also available in a book.
Jan 7, 2022 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New chapter, ozone therapy —
Jan 4, 2022 — Ozone Therapy for Pain — Added a section about injected ozone for back pain. Also made a number of minor editorial corrections, added a couple images, and brief mentions of veterinary uses of ozone, and vaginal insufflation of ozone. The article is now “ready for prime time.”
Jan 1, 2022 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Added sub-topic, ozone therapy — Added a discussion of ozone therapy, which just barely qualifies as a “regenerative” therapy, and my only advice is to avoid it, so it’s a minor addition here — but an interesting one.
Dec 28, 2021 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section, ozone therapy —
Dec 27, 2021 — Popular but Weird & Dangerous Cures — Added ozone therapy to the list, with fascinating photos of a bizarre vintage ozone therapy device. Updated information on Miracle Mineral Solution (because the perperatrators were indicted this year).
Dec 26, 2021 — Nerve Pain Is Overdiagnosed — Correction. I excessively demonized gabepentin and pregabalin based on an oversimplification of their legal history and inadequate attention to the evidence on efficacy for neuropathy. In fact, these drugs are efficacious for some neuropathies.
Dec 26, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Correction, neuropathy chapter — I excessively demonized gabepentin and pregabalin based on an oversimplification of their legal history and inadequate attention to the evidence on efficacy for neuropathy. In fact, these drugs are efficacious for some neuropathies.
Dec 26, 2021 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Correction, anticonvulsants chapter — I excessively demonized gabepentin and pregabalin based on an oversimplification of their legal history and inadequate attention to the evidence on efficacy for neuropathy. In fact, these drugs are efficacious for some neuropathies. While those were genuine errors in need of correction, the key message was accurate: they aren't useful for back pain, and corruption is the only reason they were ever given to patients for that purpose.
Dec 25, 2021 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Upgrade, hypomagnesemia — Much more and clearer information about hypomagnesemia and it’s possible role in pain.
Dec 25, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Upgraded, water and electrolytes chapter — Added much more information about magnesium: cramping, supplementation, and dietary sources. Also beefed up the warning about excessive hydration and its effect on electrolytes (hyponatremia).
Dec 25, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — More information, epsom salts — Added information about the role of magnesium.
Dec 25, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Upgraded, spasm chapter — More and clearer information. A new citation to some basic spasm science.
Dec 24, 2021 — Water Fever and the Fear of Chronic Dehydration — Added extra information and citations about cramping and magnesium.
Dec 24, 2021 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Minor science update: added a couple citations about magnesium.
Dec 24, 2021 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Science update — Added citations and extra information about cramping and magnesium.
Dec 24, 2021 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added more information and science about exertional cramping and the role of magnesium in cramping.
Dec 22, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Substantive science update on the efficacy of treating pain with magnesium.
Dec 22, 2021 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Major upgrade, magnesium as a pain killer — Added much more detail (and science) about the efficacy of treating chronic pain with magnesium supplementation. Merged with previous information on managing post-surgical pain.
Dec 22, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major upgrade, magnesium deficiency — Dramatically improved quantity and quality of information about magnesium deficiency and using it as a treatment for pain or cramping.
Dec 22, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Upgrade, vitamin C deficiency — More and better information, especially a science-based revised of vitamin C dosing advice.
Dec 16, 2021 — Heat for Pain and Rehab — Major upgrade to information on capsaicin and “spice therapy.” A huge new members-only area has been added with extremely detailed information on this fascinating sub-topic, almost doubling the length of the article, and longer itself than most independent articles. But even the freely available summary is substantially upgraded, much more detailed and accurate.
Dec 8, 2021 — Many Pages — It’s a small thing, but a nice thing: PainSci members (premium newsletter subscribers) will no longer see “subscribe now!” blurbs (when logged in).
Dec 8, 2021 — Many Pages — For the first time in the history of the business, some articles are now behind a paywall, accessible only to members — just a handful for now, eventually about 15% of the content.
Dec 7, 2021 — The Insomnia Guide — Completely rebooted all content about light, blue light, screens, and gadgets features like Night Shift and Night Light. New science, all new commentary.
Dec 3, 2021 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Meaningful science update, kind of the opposite of a “nail in the coffin” — topical diclofenac has now been clearly established by extensive testing as effective and safe. This is about as close to “proven” as we get in this business.
Dec 3, 2021 — The Science of Pain-Killers — Minor science update, new citation for the safety and efficacy of topical diclofenac.
Dec 2, 2021 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New chapter — A substantive new chapter about the possible role of the mind and muscle guarding in frozen shoulder.
Nov 22, 2021 — The Role of “Spasm” in Frozen Shoulder — Minor clarifications to the submersion tip.
Nov 19, 2021 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Small but valuable safety update: better red flag information based on Angus et al.
Nov 19, 2021 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major upgrade — Substantial clarifications and new information about ominous neuropathy symptoms, based primarily on Hoeritzauer and Angus, and initially inspired by Tom Jesson’s writing about the prevalence of cauda equina syndrome.
Nov 18, 2021 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Minor science update, added information and data about the rarity of cauda equina syndrome.
Nov 16, 2021 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New chapter, back pain as a disease of civilization —
Nov 9, 2021 — Pain is Weird — New section — At last! This article has long needed a definition and explanation of nociception. It finally has one.
Nov 8, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update, dry needling chapter — Almost an echo of last year’s science update on this topic: a second study of needling for neck pain, also quite good, and also quite negative.
Nov 8, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update, dry needling chapter — Almost an echo of last year’s science update on this topic: a second study of needling for neck pain, also quite good, and also quite negative.
Nov 3, 2021 — When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — New red flag. Added “facial numbness,” based on Ugradar et al.
Nov 3, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New red flag — Added “facial numbness,” based on Ugradar et al.
Nov 3, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New red flag — Added “facial numbness,” based on Ugradar et al.
Oct 30, 2021 — Pain is Weird — Editing — Some cleanup and clarification.
Oct 29, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added warning about the slaughter of sharks required for collagen production.
Oct 29, 2021 — Proprioception, the True Sixth Sense — This may be the first update this article has ever gotten, since I first wrote it in the mid-2000s. For its age, it wasn’t in terrible shape! But I corrected some overconfident speculations, got a little more specific with some of the science, added a number of interesting details, especially a lot more information about Piezo1 and Piezo2 receptors… science that won a Nobel prize in 2021, but was done back when this was first written! The article doubled in size.
Oct 29, 2021 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Clarified the distinction between standard opioid receptor downregulation versus the stranger phenomenon of opioid hyperalgesia.
Oct 27, 2021 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Important corrections and clarifications, acknowledging ongoing debate about the relationship between lactate, lactic acid, and acidosis. Importantly, however, this is only relevant to the biology of fatigue, not soreness.
Oct 26, 2021 — Reviews of Pain Professions — Added orthopedics.
Oct 24, 2021 — Strength Training Frequency — Science update. Added a citation to Sheng et al about the excellent fitness bang-for-buck delivered by walking, building on the point that there’s a theme of efficiency throughout exercise science.
Oct 24, 2021 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Science update. Added a citation to Sheng et al about the excellent fitness bang-for-buck delivered by walking.
Oct 24, 2021 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — Science update. Added a citation to Sheng et al about the excellent fitness bang-for-buck delivered by walking.
Oct 24, 2021 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Substantial upgrade to the debunking of the lactic acid myth, from a sidebar with a couple key points to a new section of the article.
Oct 24, 2021 — The Trouble with Chairs — Science update. Added a citation to Sheng et al about the excellent fitness bang-for-buck delivered by walking.
Oct 24, 2021 — The Art of Rest — Science update. Added a citation to Sheng et al about the excellent fitness bang-for-buck delivered by walking.
Oct 16, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update, cervicogenic headache — Updated the chapter with a citation to an important new study showing that there are no obvious neck abnormalities in headache patients.
Oct 14, 2021 — Massage Therapy for Bruxism, Jaw Clenching, and TMJ Syndrome — Added a short section about the (bogus) relationship between jaw pain and a tight lingual frenulum.
Oct 14, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New silly treatment, frenuloplasty — Added frenuloplasty to the hall of treatment shame.
Oct 14, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Correction — I misinterpreted a study of the relationship between range of motion and recovery time. While the general principle was sound — greater ROM loss correlates strongly with recovery time) — my more specific “rule of thumb” based on it was a bit wonky. So I fixed that.
Oct 14, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, tongue-ties as a cause of headache — Adapted from the recent blog post, with some substantive extra speculation about the plausibility of a tight frenulum causing headaches.
Oct 9, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Modernized — Dramatically improved the tone of the introduction to the “medical” section of the book with a healthy dose of skepticism. I’ve added what I hope is a persuasive warning about how easy and dangerous it is to start blaming things we don’t really understand.
Oct 8, 2021 — Pain is Weird — Update — New short section about the modern alternative to the “naive view” of pain, so basically a definition and explanation of the “neuromatrix.”
Oct 6, 2021 — Does Posture Matter? — Science update — Cited Richards, a study with a delightfully counter-intuitive result, and extremely helpful to the thesis of this article.
Oct 1, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Polishing — Long overdue proofreading of the entire book, correcting several dozen typos that have snuck into it over the years. This is by far the longest of my books, and so it had by far the most typos, and no doubt there are still a few — but it’s greatly improved. Also for this project, I updated all references made to my work as a massage therapist, a great many of which still read like I have appointments schedule next week, when in fact I haven’t seen massage therapy client in over a decade now.
Sep 27, 2021 — The Science of Pain-Killers — Science and safety update about acetaminophen safety during pregnancy. See Bauer.
Sep 22, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Added anecdote — Added a solid anecdote from a physician reader about “appendicitis” cases treated with lidocaine injections in the abdominal muscles. Also added some extra medical information about pain in this area.
Sep 17, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — Added examples, sensory novelty section — The big idea of this section here was too abstract, so I added several concrete examples of how you “change something about how a painful area feels.”
Sep 16, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New section, cognitive behavioural therapy —
Sep 15, 2021 — Vaginismus — Several minor improvements for Vaginismus Awareness Day. I added a list of good Twitter accounts to follow, some statistics, a good quote, and some clarifications about the relationship of vaginismus to other kinds of pain (with more links). Lorna Meehan’s work is now included in the resources.
Sep 11, 2021 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added a citation and expert opinion.
Sep 11, 2021 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor improvements, alignment — Added some colour and did a little editing.
Sep 11, 2021 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Two new sections about muscle: “Massage for Achilles tendinitis” and “The role of the plantaris muscle in Achilles tendinitis.”
Sep 11, 2021 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Science updated: added two citations and an expert quote on the topic of eccentric training.
Sep 10, 2021 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New sidebar — Added a bit of comic relief: “Demon tries to inhabit my body … and regrets it.”
Sep 10, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section, about plantaris hypertonia —
Sep 3, 2021 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Revised — Significant improvements to the clarity of some tricky concepts.
Aug 31, 2021 — Medical Errors in Perspective — Added a new intro with more information and citations about the claim that medicine is the “third leading cause of death in America.” (It’s not.)
Aug 11, 2021 — Cold Laser Therapy Reviewed — Added a small new section, “Lasers versus LEDs,” explaining one of the hottest ongoing controversies about photobiomodulation therapy (and much ado about not much).
Aug 11, 2021 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added mentions of restless leg syndrome and myoclonus, clarified the description of clonus, and expanded on my own experience with fasciculations.
Aug 9, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — More information, the story of “power posing” —
Aug 9, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New section, The power of positive thinking versus toxic positivity —
Aug 5, 2021 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a section about pain as a learned behaviour (classical conditioning).
Aug 4, 2021 — Pain is Weird — New section, pain as a conditioned behaviour —
Aug 4, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New section, unlearning learned pain —
Aug 3, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New section, on pain hacks and false hope —
Jul 31, 2021 — Chronic Pain as a Conditioned Behaviour — New section about threat hyper-vigilance, with a cool analogy to pet reward hyper-vigilance.
Jul 31, 2021 — Cold Laser Therapy Reviewed — Added detailed analysis of a major new trial of laser therapy for back pain.
Jul 30, 2021 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section, fibromyalgia transplanted to mice in blood —
Jul 29, 2021 — Reassurance for Massage Therapists — Adjusted to be more inclusive of other kinds of professionals, not just massage therapists, plus some other polishing, especially rejiggered main list of reassurances to make it much more readable, less of a “wall of text.”
Jul 26, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Proofreading — Top-to-bottom check for typos and other minor errors. They creep in over the years as I work on updates to the book. A good three dozen of the little buggers identified and fixed this time.
Jul 19, 2021 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section, alleged fascia-COVID link —
Jul 17, 2021 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added a personal anecdote about successful treatment of a chronically twitching eyelid.
Jul 8, 2021 — What Works for Pain? — New section: “Pain relief in the future.”
Jul 8, 2021 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Science update: cited Zhang on pain relief from brain implants.
Jul 5, 2021 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a small but good citation to a case study of circulatory impairment in a cyclist causing leg pain (Brindisino).
Jul 3, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Proofreading — First top-to-bottom proofreading for this book since launch, catching many minor erros that crept in doing about a dozen updates over the last year and half.
Jul 2, 2021 — The Myth of Healing Hands — Explained the relevance of autonomous sensory meridian response in a small new section, “Satisfaction guaranteed by primate neurology.”
Jul 2, 2021 — Reassurance for Massage Therapists — Added minor references to counterstimulation and autonomous sensory meridian response.
Jul 2, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — Science update, novel sensory input section — Added a new sub-section… which is larger than the entire original section. Previously I made the recommendation without much explanation. This update thoroughly explores the scientific rationale.
Jul 2, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New strategy — Added a new sub-section explaining that cultivating ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) is a clear, specific, substantive way to “be kind to your nervous system.”
Jul 2, 2021 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Science update — Added the particularly interesting example of autonomous sensory meridian response to the discussion of the power of touch.
Jul 2, 2021 — Does Craniosacral Therapy Work? — Explored the relevance of autonomous sensory meridian response in a small new section, “More than relaxing: satisfaction guaranteed by autonomous sensory meridian response (weird euphoric head tingles).”
Jun 30, 2021 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Elaborated significantly on the mechanism of action of TENS, especially distinguishing between simple counterstimulation and the "fancier" version of counterstimulation: descending modulation triggered by novel sensory input.
Jun 30, 2021 — The Science of Pain-Killers — Added minor clarifications about the upper limits of efficacy, and contraindications for NSAIDs.
Jun 30, 2021 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — New section: “How opioids can cause pain: the insidious trap of downregulation”
Jun 25, 2021 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section, about the “dysfunctionality” of the tensor fascia latae muscle —
Jun 24, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New section, about analgesic catharsis or “emotional release” —
Jun 24, 2021 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Science update: acknowledged the drafted change in acupuncture recommendations from the UK’s influential guidelines from the National Institute for Health Care Excellence (NICE).
Jun 24, 2021 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Added information — Added extra detail about the implications of what little data we have, in particular about the unsolved riddle of whether low versus high estrogen is the risk factor.
Jun 23, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added minor new citation and commentary: “Survey says most people don’t care what the science says.”
Jun 18, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New section, different mind-over-pain perspectives —
Jun 17, 2021 — Pain is Weird — Focus! — Migrated a large portion of this article to a new page dedicated to the topic of Mind Over Pain. It was just getting out of hand, trying to cover both the weirdness of pain and it’s mind-over-pain implications all on one page.
Jun 17, 2021 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Proofreading — It was time for an annual book tune-up: a few dozen minor errors have been corrected.
Jun 12, 2021 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Small but fascinating science update about Ascani et al, exploring a possible link between frozen shoulder and COVID.
Jun 10, 2021 — Neurodynamic Stretching — Miscellaneous editing and revision after publication as an independent article. Added artwork and pull quotes.
Jun 8, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New section, on limiting pain talk —
Jun 8, 2021 — Knee Replacement Surgery Doubts — New section based on Hamilton et al: “Confidence and optimism versus the truth.”
Jun 7, 2021 — Pain is Weird — New section — Third of three new or rebooted sections about pain chronification and the types of chronic pain.
Jun 7, 2021 — Pain is Weird — New section — Second of three new or rebooted sections about pain chronification and the types of chronic pain. This one particularly fills a gap I have known about for ages, and I’m delighted to finally fill it.
Jun 7, 2021 — Pain is Weird — New section — First of three new or rebooted sections about pain chronification and the types of chronic pain.
Jun 6, 2021 — Pain is Weird — Major editorial cleanup — Extensive rewriting and reorganization. This page has evolved haphazardly over many years and had turned into more of a collection of overlapping mini-essays and musings than a cohesive article. It has been reorganized quite a bit now.
Jun 6, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — Major expansion — Much more detail about several of the mind-over-pain tips.
Jun 5, 2021 — The Science of Pain-Killers — New section, “One of the best uses of NSAIDs: treating menstrual cramps.” I am embarrassed that this wasn’t in the first version! A major oversight.
Jun 5, 2021 — Pain is Weird — More detail — Significantly more detailed “advice for professionals” in the final sections of the article.
Jun 5, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Improvements — More detail and polish, strain-counterstrain chapter
Jun 5, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Improvements, strain-counterstrain chapter — More detail and polish.
Jun 5, 2021 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Improvements, strain-counterstrain chapter — More detail and polish.
Jun 4, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — Revision and expansion — More and better information about one of the most specific, practical pieces of mind-over-pain advice in the article.
Jun 4, 2021 — Mind Over Pain — New section, “Doubt diagnosis” — A dense new item to the list of mind-over-pain strategies, on the importance of avoiding nocebo by being very skeptical of all theories about how broken/fragile you are.
Jun 3, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Several miscellaneous edits after promoting the rebooted version of this article. Most notably, I added some safety information about curcumin, and a full-blown science update about tart cherry juice for insomnia, but there have been many other minor changes.
Jun 2, 2021 — Marijuana for Pain — Added two token citations about cannabis for fibromyalgia. “Token” because the evidence barely exists.
Jun 1, 2021 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Science update — Added two token citations about cannabis for fibromyalgia. “Token” because the evidence barely exists.
May 31, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Tied up some loose ends and corrected a bunch of minor errors that crept in during the wave of recent updates. Page is in great shape now, I think. The main thing missing? Some popular supplements! Mostly in the vitamins/minerals category. I will chip away at them over time, of course.
May 28, 2021 — Knee Replacement Surgery Doubts — Some editorial polishing and three new images.
May 27, 2021 — Knee Replacement Surgery Doubts — Science update and new section: “Total versus partial knee replacement: Is more surgery better? Is less worse?” Also cited more evidence on the role of the anxiety and fear in post-surgical pain. Updated Skou 2015 with data from Skou 2018 and added a full description of that research. Clarified the importance of sham-controlled surgical trials.
May 25, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Many minor improvements to the topics of Glutamine and arginine, branched-chain amino acids, and collagen.
May 24, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Science and citation update on the topic of supplement contamination and adulteration.
May 24, 2021 — The Dubious Science of Kinesiology Tape — Minor science update, just piling on with another new negative trial of taping (McManus).
May 23, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — A thorough science update on bromelain — such as it is. More like an update on the lack of science. But the section is much more informative now, even if disappointingly so.
May 22, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Complete overhaul of everything about ergogenic aids in general, their possible relevance to pain, and creatine as the primary example — still actually effective for muscle fatigue (hooray, something that works!), but probably not for pain.
May 21, 2021 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Edited — Proofreading and minor editorial polish.
May 19, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Rewrote the fish oil section, with significant science updates.
May 19, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added an adapted version of Peter Brannen’s highly relevant joke about the simplicity of supplementation versus the complexity of metabolic pathways.
May 19, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Revision and science updates for the glucosamine and chondroitin section. I was particularly exasperated by and sassy about these embarrassingly unimpressive supplements.
May 16, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Major reorganization of the article to make it more useful and comprehensive. Added topics, removed others. A variety of other science updates to come.
May 14, 2021 — Marijuana for Pain — Greatly expanded information about cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.
May 10, 2021 — Massage Therapy Side Effects — New and upgraded citations of case studies of massage dislodging blood clots and causing dangerous pulmonary emboli. There are now six interesting summaries of these alarming stories.
May 10, 2021 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — New and upgraded citations of case studies of massage dislodging blood clots and causing dangerous pulmonary emboli. There are now six interesting summaries of these alarming stories.
May 8, 2021 — Marijuana for Pain — I consider most single citation updates to be minor, but this one is a bigger deal: Bebee et al, a decisively negative, well-designed trial of pure CBD for back pain, noteworthy for several reasons.
May 8, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Minor polishing — A little editorial polish, and a bit of elaboration about the role of psychotropic effects.
May 8, 2021 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor polishing — A little editorial polish, and a bit of elaboration about the role of psychotropic effects.
May 7, 2021 — Vibration Therapies, from Massage Guns to Jacuzzis — A stronger focus on massage guns, and much more detailed analysis of the science of vibration preventing muscle soreness. There’s a new section about whole body vibration. I also elaborated on exactly how vibration might be useful for frozen shoulder. Plus several other minor improvements.
May 7, 2021 — Marijuana for Pain — Added a citation about the prevalence of reasons for using cannabis. Added two new short sections: “CBD versus THC for pain,” “So many studies, so little good science.” Added a point about cannabis versus cannabis-based medications.
May 6, 2021 — Modality Empires — New section: “What are the alternatives? Academic continuing education.”
May 4, 2021 — Marijuana for Pain — Wrote a new intro, expanded on the pain evidence, added a short new section about anxiolytic effects, and a whimsical sidebar about a bizarre headache “caused” by cannabis.
May 4, 2021 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Some fresh new references about cannabis as an anti-anxiety medication.
May 3, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — New section, stretching for cramps —
May 3, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Rebooted — Over the last couple weeks, this article has been upgraded and expanded in many ways. It is now about 33,000 words long, which gives it the dubious distinction of being the first PainSci article to match the length of the shortest PainSci book. Henceforth, I will call this page a “book.”
May 2, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — New section, ballistic stretching —
May 1, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Rewritten — Much more and clearer information about other types of stretching, with new references, plus a rewritten explanation of allegedly “advanced” stretching.
Apr 30, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Science update — Added citations about neck pain, fibromyalgia, headache, runner’s knee.
Apr 30, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Science update — Added two citations to systematic reviews of research on proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation.
Apr 29, 2021 — Trigger Point Doubts — Just a good round of polish and editing.
Apr 28, 2021 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Proofreading and editorial polish: corrected about 20 minor errors.
Apr 28, 2021 — The Respiration Connection — Proofreading and editorial polish: corrected about 16 minor errors.
Apr 27, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Completely rewritten — A total reboot of my coverage of the topic of sensory tolerance for stretch.
Apr 27, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — New section — A tour of all the major ways that flexibility supposedly works.
Apr 27, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Major revision — The introduction to flexibility has not been completely re-written, but close: thoroughly revised and tuned to reflect many changes in this part of the article.
Apr 27, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Major updates — Extensive improvements: more sub-topics, more references, more detail. Also added a good anecdote about stretching too much.
Apr 25, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — New section, nerve stretching —
Apr 20, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Science update — Added a bunch more detail and references about the negative effects of stretch on performance.
Apr 17, 2021 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — New section, “Bonus acupuncture myth: no, acupuncture cannot induce labour in pregnant women.”
Apr 14, 2021 — The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — Substantial batch of minor corrections.
Apr 14, 2021 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added a myth — Added an old massage myth I should have added long ago: the idea that rubbing certain acupuncture points can induce labour. It really can’t. Just not a thing.
Apr 8, 2021 — Many Pages — The PainScience.com store checkout has been rebooted. Specifically, I have migrated from Stripe’s legacy checkout system to their new-fangled hosted checkout. See the official announcement for a few details, or my personal blog for a behind-the-scenes look: The new online store story (“If only I had procrastinated more”).
Mar 24, 2021 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Rewrote the section on neuroinflammation. It had been hastily excerpted and abridged from another article. Now it’s a proper standalone summary and much clearer.
Mar 24, 2021 — Pseudo-Quackery in the Treatment of Pain — Added “posturology” to the list of pseudo-quackeries.
Mar 23, 2021 — Does Posture Matter? — Added links — Added six reading recommendations, all with mini-reviews.
Mar 19, 2021 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — New section: “Waiting it out or working through it: the role of rest and more exercise in DOMS treatment” in which I address two key questions I should have answered here long ago: “Should you exercise while sore?” and “Can exercising while sore actually help?”
Mar 18, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — New section, Stretching for back pain —
Mar 17, 2021 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Added summary and citations for non-invasive brain stim. Added two new scientific review citations to the “Overview of TENS reviews” table. Added a new section, “Just the right settings.” Added a dense couple paragraphs about the unclear role of muscle stim in treating arthrogenic muscle inhibition.
Mar 17, 2021 — The Chiropractic Controversies — Added citation to a new survey of chiropractic students showing that anti-scientific subluxationism continues to substantially define the profession around the world.
Mar 16, 2021 — Tennis Elbow Guide — Thorough proofreading, correcting an unusual number of minor errors — not surprising after the huge recent update.
Mar 15, 2021 — Many Pages — More words! I identified and fixed a bug in content management system that was resulting in article and book word counts that were quite a bit too low. In many cases the actual word counts are at least 30% higher than what was being advertised before.
Mar 14, 2021 — Tennis Elbow Guide — Complete article reboot and expansion, roughly tripling in length to about 15,000 words. The most substantively upgraded sub-topics are etiology and risk factors, recovery time, steroids, denervation, massage, and strengthening.
Mar 11, 2021 — Nerve Pain Is Overdiagnosed — Modernized, expanded. Most importantly, I added some more basic useful information and citations about neuropathy and muscle pain. This page is still technically just an abridged excerpt, but it now stands a little taller on its own. Some improvements also transplanted back into the tutorials this page came from.
Mar 11, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Upgrades — More and better information, mostly achieved in this case by consolidating information from other books in the PainSci library.
Mar 11, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Upgrades — More and better information, mostly achieved in this case by consolidating information from other books in the PainSci library.
Mar 11, 2021 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Upgrades — More and better information, mostly achieved in this case by consolidating information from other books in the PainSci library.
Mar 4, 2021 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Added a fun image of Anti-Stiff, an old-timey snake oil for muscle soreness (good historical perspective, too). Added discussion of worst case scenarios, especially rhabdomyolysis, and DOMS that's out of proportion to overexertion. Added examples of pathological vulnerability to DOMS, and some speculation about mechanism (neuroinflammation).
Feb 26, 2021 — The Dubious Science of Kinesiology Tape — Major upgrade, a complete reboot of the article: more of everything, especially citations. Previously it was just a brief “position statement” on the topic, now it’s a full-fledged critical analysis. The bottom line is still the same: skeptical. The biggest single change is the strong emphasis on the interesting fact that therapeutic taping was a chiropractor’s invention from back in the 1970s, and a relatively obscure one until the 2012 Olympics, not a staple of physical therapy and rehab. This really helps make the important point that therapeutic taping is more about marketing than medicine.
Feb 23, 2021 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Major additions, more than a thousand words on “other topical pain-killers: from literal snake oil to the perfectly cromulent salicylates.”
Feb 17, 2021 — The Chiropractic Controversies — Transplated and updated information about chiropractic’s legal battles from a separate page. Also, the whole article got a proofreading for the first time in quite a while, correcting a few minor errors.
Feb 16, 2021 — Quite a Stretch — Re-expansion — In mid-2020 the article was split up into four separate articles as an experiment. That experiment failed; I decided that it’s better as one mighty article, and restored it to its original state. Technically there’s no new content, but this page is nevertheless “like new” — it has never been this comprehensive before.
Feb 11, 2021 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — New section: “Achilles tendonitis recovery time.”
Feb 6, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Upgrade, alternate explanations of trigger points — Today I dug much deeper into the idea that trigger points are a kind of “injury,” especially an overuse injury. I am quite pleased with this update — genuinely interesting stuff.
Feb 6, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Improved, misdiagnosis chapter — I have added much clearer and more thorough information about the difference between a strain (clear mechanism involving structural damage) and a trigger point (unclear mechanism, no obvious structural component).
Feb 4, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — More and better, thermotherapy section — It’s not an important sub-topic for patellofemoral pain, but it certainly deserved more and better advice than I had previously offered. An obsolete point or two removed, and a more modern perspective added.
Feb 3, 2021 — The Tyranny of Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness — Added section about the links between yoga and pseudoscience, anti-vaccination, and Qanon, and another about the “Fuck you, Namaste!” phenomenon.
Jan 26, 2021 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section — An entire new section dedicated to a correction: fibromyalgia is not (clearly or officially) a “diagnosis of exclusion.” However, it’s an interesting question to dive into, so I wrote a whole new section about it.
Jan 21, 2021 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — More info, strength chapter — More detailed information and advice about training for “muscle balance” between the quads and hamstrings.
Jan 20, 2021 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Improvements — A bit more and clearer information on the role of radiculopathy/sciatica in differential diagnosis of shin pain.
Jan 15, 2021 — Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Chronic Pain — Science update, added citation and discussion of Mascarenhas et al on cognitive behavioural therapy for fibromyalgia.
Jan 15, 2021 — Missing Serious Symptoms — Revised and significantly expanded.
Jan 15, 2021 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Science update — Added citation and significant discussion of Mascarenhas et al, a huge 2020 meta-analysis of treatments for fibromyalgia. I gave some extra attention to the evidence on cognitive behavioural therapy.
Jan 6, 2021 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Clarification — Added some new emphasis on how difficult fibromyalgia treatment is. People seem to think there must be a treatment for it, but there really isn’t. This disease remains extremely puzzling and generally untreatable, and that point needed to be made more strongly.
Dec 29, 2020 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added short commentary on the ethics of sharing “high-grade hypochondriac nightmare fuel.”
Dec 29, 2020 — Reviews of Pain Professions — Another thorough proofreading, and many minor clarifications.
Dec 17, 2020 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Good news update — Added superb news about “New Graded Exercise Warning on Current ME/CFS Guideline.
Dec 13, 2020 — The “Impress Me” Test — An unusually large batch of typo corrections. (I don’t normally consider correcting typos to be worthy of logging an update, but in this case… sheesh.)
Nov 27, 2020 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Added minor new section, “A practical example of self-diagnosis of sensitization and its predictive power,” inspired by Akin-Akinyosoye et al.
Nov 23, 2020 — What Happened To My Barber? — Minor addition of a definition of beauty parlour syndrome.
Nov 18, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New chapter, steroid injections —
Nov 17, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor new sub-topic, foam rolling —
Nov 14, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Major expansion, regenerative medicine — Added an introduction about regenerative medicine in general, a more bullish assessment of PRP, and some new basic notes about stem cell therapy.
Nov 14, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New sub-topic — Added discussion of the (rather silly) idea that prolotherapy is a form of regenerative medicine.
Nov 14, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major expansion — Added an introduction about regenerative medicine in general, a thorough discussion of autologous chondrocyte implantation, and some basic notes about stem cell therapy.
Nov 14, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor edit — Modernized the homeopathic arnica section.
Nov 14, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New chapter, regenerative medicine —
Nov 13, 2020 — Trigger Point Doubts — Updated audio version of the article to incorporate recent significant changes.
Nov 12, 2020 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Minor science update, added a citation to a cancer case study.
Nov 12, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New chapter, injury warning signs —
Nov 11, 2020 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Medical update, magnesium deficiency — More and better information about the causes, symptoms, and treatments for magnesium deficiency.
Nov 11, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update, ultrasound — Minor citation to Ainsworth on ultrasound for shoulder pain (negative, of course).
Nov 11, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Major expansion, posture section — Upgraded from a brief dismissal of the topic to a full discussion, from 100 words to 1000.
Nov 10, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section, positional release — Adapted and expanded from an old chapter in my muscle pain book, with more detail and a neck pain example.
Nov 10, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, positional release — Adapted and expanded from an old chapter in my muscle pain book, with more detail and a back pain example.
Nov 10, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update, hip strengthening — Added a scrap of new data about hips tiring faster in ITBS patients, useful mostly as an example of inconclusive research — but we try to work with what we have.
Nov 10, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update, pain-killers — Added citations to evidence that NSAIDs may actually impair healing.
Nov 8, 2020 — Vibration Therapies, from Massage Guns to Jacuzzis — New section, “Massage gun side effects: shooting yourself in the foot (or anywhere) with a massage gun.”
Nov 8, 2020 — Poisoned by Massage — Cited a new case study of massage-induced rhabdo, added a link to another good quality anecdote about exertional rabdo. Although a minor change, this is now quite a lot of “smoke” and I am starting to thinking that the rhabdo hypothesis isn’t so exotic anymore, so I also changed some language to express more serious concern about the potential seriousness of the situation.
Nov 8, 2020 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Small new section, “Menopause is probably inflammatory,” based on some new science.
Nov 8, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — More info, about types of doctors and therapists — Added some context about trigger point therapy as a “modality” to introduce the section.
Nov 8, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update, impact — Cited Milgrom et al on seemingly high-impact exercises actually being not so high impact, and Barton et al on the value of running technique
Nov 1, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor upgrade, case study — Added some additional discussion of the implications of Tanya’s story.
Oct 30, 2020 — Trigger Point Doubts — Made a significant correction to my summary of Rathbone et al. I had not noticed an important distinction between intra- inter-rater reliability, which led to more errors in my reporting. The correction also made it possible to make the point of the section more clearly and cleanly.
Oct 28, 2020 — Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Chronic Pain — Added section, “CBT as ‘glorified toxic positivity’ or gaslighting.”
Oct 28, 2020 — Insomnia Until it Hurts — Added citation to Prather et al on the effect of sleep loss on vaccination.
Oct 28, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Upgraded — Substantial revision and modernization, with more attention given to skeptical concerns about icing.
Oct 19, 2020 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — New section, “Malice and fraud versus incompetence and self-delusion.”
Oct 18, 2020 — Many Pages — Several hundred typos have been eliminated from about 70 PainScience.com articles in a major proofreading effort. The project has reached a milestone, and will continue but with diminishing returns. See my blog post, “The Warr on Tipos.”
Oct 16, 2020 — Does Craniosacral Therapy Work? — New section, “Can craniosacral therapy treat hydrocephalus?” Also a science update, citing Haller.
Oct 15, 2020 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Correction: new evidence suggests that the phenomenon of non-local muscle fatigue isn’t quite as well-established as I thought (see Behm).
Oct 9, 2020 — The False Humility of “Facilitating” Healing — Converted from blog post to permanent article, polished, and expanded a little. (And this is a pretty simple article, so it may never evolve beyond this.)
Oct 6, 2020 — Chronic Pain and Inequality — Added discussion of “social” versus “physical” distance.
Oct 5, 2020 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a section about smoking, expanded the discussion of poor health, and added an interesting blurb about the pre-pandemic meaning of “social distancing.”
Oct 5, 2020 — The PainScience.com origin story — Substantial revision.
Oct 2, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Editorial polishing.
Sep 30, 2020 — Smoking and Chronic Pain — Science update. Added a good fresh citation to Smuck et al about the link between smoking and pain.
Sep 30, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added a citation to Smuck et al.
Sep 30, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New section, the impact of smoking —
Sep 29, 2020 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — Proofreading.
Sep 26, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Major upgrade, steroid injections — Much more thorough exploration of the plausibility and evidence for exploiting the “WOO” that is probably created by steroid injections.
Sep 24, 2020 — Sports Injury Prevention Tips — New section: “Heed the signs! Painful ‘niggles’ are a loud-and-clear sign of an increased risk of injury.”
Sep 15, 2020 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — A thorough proofreading.
Sep 11, 2020 — Chronic Pain as a Conditioned Behaviour — Proofreading.
Sep 9, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Science updated. Added a good example from Rechardt et al.
Sep 8, 2020 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Edited for readability. Added some images.
Sep 7, 2020 — Reviews of Pain Professions — Thorough proofreading. If anyone finds any typos after this, I will be surprised. Grateful! But surprised.
Sep 6, 2020 — Chronic Pain and Inequality — Editing.
Sep 5, 2020 — When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — New section, “Is right or left neck pain significant?”
Sep 2, 2020 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Widespread minor improvements, collectively substantial. Most notably added information on mechanism of action, some more safety information, more about brands and availability.
Sep 2, 2020 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Minor science update — added citations and detail about the anti-inflammatory potential of exercise/activity.
Sep 2, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update, introduction to exercise therapy — Added more about the rationale for exercise therapy, citing Fu.
Aug 31, 2020 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Added more detail about pain-killers, and more and better information about the role of herniation (with upgraded citations).
Aug 30, 2020 — Tennis Elbow Guide — General editing, and a new section, “Some important general treatment principles to bear in mind.”
Aug 30, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update, medications — Cited Ashbrook 2020 on the value of naproxen. Added some additional detail about how/why to experiment with different pain-killers.
Aug 29, 2020 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — New section, “Poor quality sleep and insomnia are probably major causes of morning back pain.” Also made some minor improvements to the introduction and article summary.
Aug 29, 2020 — Insomnia Until it Hurts — Added citations to Gerhart 2017 on causality, and Rohleder 2012 on the relationship between inflammation and sleep.
Aug 27, 2020 — The Myth of Healing Hands — Added a section about the popularity and mainstream traction of vitalism, based on a particularly fluffy New York Times article about it.
Aug 27, 2020 — 💩 Massage Therapists Say — Added one particularly juicy item (search for the New York Times quote).
Aug 22, 2020 — Reviews of Pain Professions — Added osteopathy. (Several sections were added all at once in early August when I rebooted this article. This is the first “post-reboot” addition.) Also added a reference about physiotherapy.
Aug 22, 2020 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added information, types of massage therapy — Compared and contrasted the practice of massage in other “manual therapy” professions like chiropractic, osteopathy, and physiotherapy.
Aug 22, 2020 — The Chiropractic Controversies — Added a little information about osteopathy and its similarities to chiropractic to the introduction.
Aug 21, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update, — No obvious changes, but I carefully reviewed and upgraded and fine-tuned some of the referencing in this section. I also added a bit about the history of prejudice against whiplash patients.
Aug 20, 2020 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — Added new section about cerebrospinal fluid circulation and craniosacral therapy, and another one about hemodynamics and the variables that affect pushing blood through capillary beds.
Aug 20, 2020 — Does Craniosacral Therapy Work? — Added a brief but important point of logic, about CST being a “solution in search of a problem.”
Aug 9, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update, calf tightness — Substantially improved referencing, with some small but genuinely useful and interesting implications. Best kind of science update!
Aug 8, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update, nature of the beast — Minor but interesting extra detail about exactly how common plantar fasciitis is (spoiler alert: very common). Upgraded referencing on the topic of plantar fascia thickness.
Aug 7, 2020 — Quite a Stretch — Major update — Extensive revisions and reorganization, with too many changes to itemize. The stretching for pain and flexibility sections were both substantially revised and expanded. The athletic stretching sections — the original core of the article — were fine-tuned, and unified with the particularly important idea that stretching is not a “pillar of fitness.”
Aug 3, 2020 — Reviews of Pain Professions — Completely rebooted, truly “like new.”
Aug 3, 2020 — The Dubious Science of Kinesiology Tape — Added short new section about some silly research: “Bemused scientific post script: does the colour of the tape matter?” Spoiler: no.
Aug 1, 2020 — Vibration Therapies, from Massage Guns to Jacuzzis — “Massage guns” were strangely missing from this article, as well as any discussion of their efficacy, so I corrected that. I also substantially revised everything to make this a more general article about the theme of vibration in both medicine and quackery.
Aug 1, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Upgrade — Added quite a bit of additional detail.
Jul 27, 2020 — Chronic Pain and Inequality — Added a substantial section about the “myth of feminine fragility.”
Jul 24, 2020 — The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — Science updated: cited Fuller et al about the relationship of pain to FMS scoring. Updated the conclusion to be more clearly negative, in tune with the steadily emerging evidence that FMS cannot predict injury risk.
Jul 24, 2020 — Electromagnetic Sensitivity Absurdity — Several minor improvements. Some detail was moved to foonotes. Added more information about the role of psychology in EMS.
Jul 20, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor addition, introduction — Expanded on the summary of symptoms just a little, emphasizing the quality and potential severity of the pain.
Jul 18, 2020 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Minor new section: “Get a pet, probably a dog — they are people too, and those relationships are never toxic.”
Jul 18, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Major improvements, structuralism summary — Substantial editing and elaboration. The chapter is now bigger and better.
Jul 13, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Discussed some interesting new data on the clinical relevance of plantar fasciitis thickness. Do thicker soles mean you’re in worse trouble? Probably not.
Jul 11, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Addition — Added osteochondritis dissecans to the list of other diagnoses to consider.
Jul 11, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New chapter, coat hanger pain —
Jul 11, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Major upgrade — Added a bunch of new information about conventional risk factors.
Jul 11, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New content — Added coat hangar pain from orthostatic hypotension to the collection of more exotic types of cervicogenic headache.
Jul 11, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Upgraded, diagnosis intro — Added more information based on a very helpful video that shows “fake” shoulder ROM achieved entirely with good shoulder girdle motion, while the shoulder joint proper remains completely stuck.
Jul 10, 2020 — Heat for Pain and Rehab — New section: “Even more localized heating + the relevance of climate and context.”
Jul 10, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, back beliefs —
Jul 10, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New chapter, slue-footed posture —
Jul 10, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update, trigger point therapy — Cited a nail-in-coffin 2020 study of dry needling for neck pain.
Jul 10, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update, phyical stresses — Added more detail and citations about headaches caused by physical irritation around the head, including (sigh) personal protective equipment like face masks.
Jul 9, 2020 — Vitamin D for Pain — Added a statement about vitamin D and COVID-19.
Jul 9, 2020 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Extensive editing and modernization. Many minor improvements adding up to a large overall improvement.
Jul 9, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — 2020-07-09 — Added a doctor’s anecdote about treating many troublesome back mice over the years, both his own and his patients.
Jul 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor addition, load management — Added sex to the list of activities that can involve potentially harmful knee stresses, depending on the position and, er, endurance.
Jul 3, 2020 — Poisoned by Massage — New section and sub-topic, “PMSM: What about people who feel lousy after a gentle massage treatment?” Polished and updated the article summary. Added a short section about the evidence and the plausibility of the rhabdomyolysis hypothesis.
Jul 1, 2020 — Many Pages — Another round of page speed work: now getting absolutely top marks in various speed testing tools for most pages. Images and YouTube now load “lazily” so readers don’t have to download every picture on every page they visit — just the ones they scroll down to. (Related: YouTube videos have been stopped from using trackers. I’m also getting ready to finally ditch Google Analytics for the same reason.) The scripting that powers popups was simplified down to almost nothing. Some huuuuge lists of updates have been moved to archives for that purpose rather than bloating the pages they’re on. Fixed a bug that was preventing a couple groups of pages from being served by CloudFlare.
Jun 30, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Improvements — Science updates, updated side effect information, and just generally more detail.
Jun 29, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Added and discussed one of the only examples of evidence that can, at least in principle, show a causal link between poor health and chronic pain.
Jun 29, 2020 — Chronic Pain as a Conditioned Behaviour — Added evidence that chronic pain can be a conditioned behaviour, plus some reading recommendations.
Jun 26, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update, pronation chapter — Added some more recent citations, some more detail, and a photo.
Jun 25, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update, quality control chapter — Added some thoughts on the theme of “What could possibly go wrong?” — inspired by a particularly bizarre example that is both disturbing and yet entirely too typical of the industry.
Jun 25, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Upgraded, strength training chapter — Added more detail, especially about trigger points and minor muscle injury, with a couple new citations.
Jun 18, 2020 — The Role of “Spasm” in Frozen Shoulder — Just a little light editing.
Jun 17, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Added a discussion of the evidence, such as it is. Also, extensive editing and polish.
Jun 10, 2020 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Extensive revisions to the self-help suggestions. This was long overdue. This article is quite old, and had some rambly weird stuff from my hippy youth, now purged. I added a couple of ideas, polished several others, organized them, and created an introduction with some broader points and a summary of all the options.
Jun 8, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update, dry needling chapter — A small science update, but a significant one: the best quality study with negative results available to date.
Jun 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Updated the discussion of inflammation with important perspective about more subtle types of inflammation in overuse injuries.
Jun 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Major revision, spasm section — Information about spasms and cramps is now more detailed and nuanced. Some significant modernization was needed.
Jun 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major science update — Updated the discussion of inflammation with an important new subsection, “The other side of the story: don’t count inflammation out quite yet,” based mainly on the fascinating research of Dakin (among others).
May 31, 2020 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Added an unimportant but really interesting citation about non-local muscle fatigue.
May 31, 2020 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added an unimportant but really interesting citation about non-local muscle fatigue.
May 28, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Editing and more content — Added subsection about passive ROM testing, and did some miscellaneous polishing.
May 22, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Improved — A thorough editing and cleanup, with some information added, most notably the most positive science on the topic.
May 20, 2020 — The Role of “Spasm” in Frozen Shoulder — Added an article summary.
May 19, 2020 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — Added new section about deep vein thrombosis.
May 14, 2020 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Upgraded, psychological effects of massage — Significantly expanded on the discussion of how massage might have profound psychological significance to people.
May 13, 2020 — Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — Comprehensive editing with many improvements and clarifications.
May 12, 2020 — Reassurance for Massage Therapists — Added article summary.
May 11, 2020 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section, “Be cautious with marijuana: it can cause anxiety when you use it and when you stop using it.”
May 11, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New chapter, case study —
May 11, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Correction and editing, pacing chapter — I removed a digression because it was based on an error about the relationship between stride rate and running speed. And I did some general editing while I was here.
May 9, 2020 — Reassurance for Massage Therapists — Added the point that good healthcare is a process not a product/service, and that this represents a significant opportunity for massage therapists (but massage is also a great product/service).
May 9, 2020 — Pseudo-Quackery in the Treatment of Pain — Added a new short section, “Process versus product.”
May 4, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Upgraded, hall of treatment shame — More and better information, and also probably mostly complete now. There might be some other ridiculous treatments for shin splints, but probably none that are popular enough to bother writing a paragraph about.
May 4, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New content, orthotics chapter — A minor but nice addition of information (and a story) about heels and heel lifts.
May 4, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update, rest introduction — Added a couple small but good clarifications, and an amusing bit of perspective, in my never-ending quest to effectively explain the importance of rest.
May 4, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Upgrade, diagnosis — Clarification what different combinations of strength and pain might mean.
May 2, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Added info, orthotics chapter — Added basic information and a brief cautionary tale about metatarsal pads.
May 2, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update, — A nail-in-coffin study of needling for neck pain has been published. I may never have to update this chapter ever again. (Ha, fat chance!)
May 2, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Added case study — An interesting and credible case study about a clear case of spinal degeneration with counter-intuitive consequences.
May 2, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New content, other causes of cervicogenic headache — Added a substantial new sub-section, “Trigger points, schmigger points: the many other kinds of muscle injury and dysfunction.”
May 1, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Cited a more recent review and added a little bit of extra analysis.
May 1, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Upgraded — Major improvements and clarifications, inspired by some good scholarly debate about the classification of muscle injuries. A formal classification of some muscle injuries as “functional” is an interesting and useful way to introduce the subtopic of trigger points, and to put it in the context of a book about structural muscle injury.
May 1, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update, definition of strain — Added a good new citation about the definition/classification of strain, clarified the unclear nature of “strain,” and introduced the idea of other kinds of muscle injury.
May 1, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded, diagnosing sensitization — Added a bunch more specific information about how to recognize sensitization.
May 1, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New chapter, sensitization — A new chapter about the role of sensitization in frozen shoulder.
May 1, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Added detail, functional freezing chapter — Added a good story about my mother-in-law’s broken arm, which nicely illustrates a neurologically mediated ROM lockdown.
Apr 29, 2020 — Quite a Stretch — More content — Added some examples of stretching being rejected by elite athletes.
Apr 26, 2020 — Many Pages — Minor updates to several articles about how some pain killers probably impede fracture healing: see Wheatley et al.
Apr 24, 2020 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section, “The special threat of health anxiety (hypochondria).”
Apr 22, 2020 — Psoas, So What? — Minor additions, mainly a startlingly extreme example of fetishization of the psoas.
Apr 17, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Still more editorial polish and clarifications — nothing major, but another upgrade. I just keep revisiting the topic this week.
Apr 17, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Added an article summary (which inspired a bunch of editorial improvements to the article, as it summarizing always does).
Apr 15, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Another round of significant editing. I added a few clarifications, elaborations, and references.
Apr 14, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Added a section, “Where’s the evidence? Does this approach work?” Plus some miscellaneous editing.
Apr 12, 2020 — Science versus Experience in Musculoskeletal Medicine — Expanded and polished. Added two new sections, “Science versus practice from the patient perspective,” and “Is it possible to care about both research and patients? Yes!” Added a citation about low-value medical interventions (Herrera-Perez), another about dry needling (Stieven). Added a terrific quote about eminence-based medicine from a class paper (Isaacs), and another about how to “bridge the gap between science and practice.”
Apr 9, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Nice reference supporting the point that true psychosomatic pain is a rare beast.
Apr 9, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — More information, aging chapter — Discussed the prevalance of severe back pain in older patients, as a good exception-that-proves-the-rule.
Apr 7, 2020 — When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — Added information about neck pain as a symptom of COVID-19.
Apr 7, 2020 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Added information about back pain as a symptom of COVID-19.
Apr 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — COVID-19 update — Added information about headaches as a symptom of COVID-19.
Apr 6, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — COVID-19 update — Added information about headaches as a symptom of COVID-19.
Apr 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — COVID-19 update — Added information about headaches as a symptom of COVID-19.
Apr 4, 2020 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Minor science update, a couple new citations, and a new section about anti-inflammatory nutrition.
Apr 4, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Edited — The standard one-week-later edit, but better than usual. The purpose of the chapter wasn’t as clear as it could have been on the first try. But I think I nailed it this time — this is about why “coping” is much better than it sounds.
Apr 4, 2020 — Many Pages — I have completed a site-wide optimization of page speed — not the first time, and probably not the last. This upgrade was focused on the sheer size and complexity of my documents, which are absurdly complex for what amounts to just a lot of text. For instance, the largest article I have — Does Fascia Matter? — is an astonishing 230KB of content and markup, with more than 2000 nodes (distinct document components, e.g. paragraphs, headings, links, etc). That’s bigger than a gallery of several good quality images… in pure text! This update was all about taming some of that size and complexity, eliminating a bunch of cruft that’s accumulated over time.
Apr 1, 2020 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Added much more information about how to recognize/diagnose sensitization.
Mar 29, 2020 — The Myth of Healing Hands — Started a collection of examples of vitalism and magical healing in pop culture. Also did a big edit and changed the title to begin making this article more of a hub for all information on PainScience.com about vitalism and other forms of energy medicine.
Mar 29, 2020 — Pseudo-Quackery in the Treatment of Pain — Added far infrared radiation to the list of popular pseudo-quackeries.
Mar 27, 2020 — Heat for Pain and Rehab — Added substantial section about infrared heating.
Mar 27, 2020 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Minor addition — Added an infographic of massage benefits as a negative example of typical claims about the profession.
Mar 27, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New chapter —
Mar 27, 2020 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Important science update, largely overturning my earlier interpretation of Heinemeier et al: while healthy tendon is a very stable tissue that doesn’t get recycled, unhealthy tendon does. I had to completely rewrite that section.
Mar 21, 2020 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Comprehensive editing. Re-wrote the summary. Refined advice on treating inflammation. Explained fibromyalgia more clearly and accurately. Added more about mattresses. Improved organization, in-document navigation, and added a few sprinkles of humour.
Mar 20, 2020 — The Role of “Spasm” in Frozen Shoulder — Post-publication polishing. My first crack at this was pretty rushed and messy — apologies to early readers. It’s been cleaned up and significantly improved.
Mar 18, 2020 — “Windows of Opportunity” in Rehab — More context and detail, extensive editing, some new citations and examples — a significant overall upgrade the week after publication.
Mar 17, 2020 — Does barefoot running prevent injuries? — A couple science updates and a little editing. I haven’t dipped into this topic in quite a while!
Mar 14, 2020 — Vibration Therapies, from Massage Guns to Jacuzzis — Added a couple citations; some editing and clarifications.
Mar 11, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Rewrite, other theories chapter — A substantial upgzrade. This chapter had become embarrassingly basic, falling behind my personal knowledge. It now has more summaries of competing hypotheses about the nature of trigger points, one particularly important new one, and a big and entertaining list of examples of bad ones. More improvements and refinements soon, but this is a good start.
Mar 10, 2020 — How to Simplify Chronic Pain Puzzles — Added an important clarification, distinguishing between “simpler” and “fewer assumptions.”
Mar 10, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — More information, prognosis — Expanded the description in the spirit of helping people understand “what to expect,” what are the limits, with some new examples.
Mar 4, 2020 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Science update, added a paragraph about the evidence of the protective and therapeutic effects of exercise, supported by several new citations.
Mar 2, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update — Added a citation about the safety of BFR training (it’s not entirely safe, turns out).
Feb 29, 2020 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section, etymology of fascia — This is not an important addition to the article, but it does add a lot of colour, and was a delight to write about an extremely rare convergence of three major but extremely different interests: language, musculoskeletal medicine, and ancient Rome.
Feb 27, 2020 — Pain is Weird — New section, clinical paralysis caused by “pain science” — About whether “Pain Science” is “paralyzing” clinicians (spoiler alert: not any good ones).
Feb 27, 2020 — Alternative Medicine’s Choice — Added a section about the legal hazards of anti-quackery activism.
Feb 23, 2020 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Added more information and references about protein supplementation, especially the branched-chain amino acids.
Feb 22, 2020 — Quite a Stretch — More information — Added detail about the practical importance of flexibility. Or lack thereof. Weirdly, this update was harvested from a decade-old Facebook comment.
Feb 18, 2020 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Added short but important section warning readers about fluoroquinolone toxicity.
Feb 16, 2020 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — More upgrades to the intermittent fasting section.
Feb 14, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Upgraded, over-the-counter pain killers — More detail, more references, and more advice.
Feb 13, 2020 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Miscellaneous editing and improvements. Nost notable: a new footnote about mechanism, and a new sub-section about weak versus strong opioids.
Feb 8, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, medication-overuse headaches —
Feb 7, 2020 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added a new section on the alleged anti-inflammatory effects of intermittent fasting. Bottom line: plausible but far from proven, safe and cheap to experiment with. This section will expand and may even be spun-off into its own article.
Feb 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update — Added some information about the potential harms of platelet-rich plasma injection.
Feb 6, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New chapter, opioids —
Feb 5, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — More content, hall of treatment shame — Added magnesium supplementation.
Feb 5, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — More detail, strengthening section — Added a general intro to therapeutic strength training and some commentary on intrinsic foot muscle strengthening and “corrective” exercise.
Feb 5, 2020 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New chapter, prolotherapy —
Feb 3, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improvements — Added some significant improvements while reviewing a couple weeks after first publishing the chapter, most notably a good summary of recent icing controversies.
Feb 3, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Updated — Added some basic information about intermittent fasting.
Feb 2, 2020 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Clarification — Added still more emphasis to the distinction between an explanatory diagnosis and a descriptive one, including a good example of this common point of confusion.
Feb 1, 2020 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Added a citation about anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of resistance training.
Jan 30, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Addition, back mice chapter — Added a fun pet theory and personal anecdote about the clinical relevance of lipomas.
Jan 30, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Expanded, specific back pain chapter — Some final elaborations and editing. This topic is now more or less completely addressed, I think.
Jan 29, 2020 — Quite a Stretch — Science update — Added an important example, stretching the hamstrings for back pain, with a few relevant references.
Jan 29, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Polishing, hamstring stretching chapter — Miscellaneous editing and improvements.
Jan 28, 2020 — Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Added some quotes and context from Sapolsky on the stresses of combatting loneliness, and the intractability of severe stresses.
Jan 28, 2020 — Does Cartilage Regeneration Work? — Added a footnote to clarify the source of claims about autologous chondrocyte implantation side effects.
Jan 25, 2020 — Does Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection Work? — Added references to a pair of recent meta-analyses… plus a sidebar about the problems with meta-analysis. 😜
Jan 24, 2020 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Another batch of miscellaneous improvements.
Jan 22, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Expanded, strength training — Added sub-topic: “More ways to go wrong getting strong (especially with shin pain)”
Jan 22, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, icing and heating —
Jan 21, 2020 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Lots of general editing and modernizing, plus a bunch of new stuff about the “corrective exercise trap,” and idea that was represented here before, but too haphazardly. It’s now much more focused and relevant.
Jan 20, 2020 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update, hip strength — Expanded on the sub-topic of hip strength, based on three new studies.
Jan 19, 2020 — The Pressure Question in Massage Therapy — Added reference to a case study of severe injury from deep abdominal massage.
Jan 19, 2020 — Massage Therapy Side Effects — Added a significant case study of severe injury to the colon from strong abdominal massage, and a story of a woman who was badly injured falling off her massage table. Also edited the intro to make it clear that the severe injuries we can read about are probably outnumbered by unreported/milder ones.
Jan 19, 2020 — Psoas, So What? — Added reference to a case study of severe injury from deep abdominal massage.
Jan 19, 2020 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Science update — Added brief discussion of (and a reference for) the prevalence of fibromyalgia before multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
Jan 19, 2020 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Expanded — Added a case report about severe injury from abdominal injury, and pointed out the likelihood that less severe injuries are probably much more commona and rarely understood or reported.
Jan 15, 2020 — Quite a Stretch — New section, stretching for injury rehab —
Jan 14, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New sub-topic, oral corticosteroids — Compared and contrasted oral and injected corticosteroids.
Jan 14, 2020 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New sub-topic, oral corticosteroids — Compared and contrasted oral and injected corticosteroids; added some colour/context about anabolic steroids.
Jan 14, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New sub-topic, oral corticosteroids — Compared and contrasted oral and injected corticosteroids; added some colour/context about anabolic steroids.
Jan 12, 2020 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Added some useful explanations and definitions of some gnarly jargon, things like “allodynia” and “temporal summation” … which sounds stranger than they are.
Jan 8, 2020 — Statistical Significance Abuse — Updated the American Statistical Association’s new position on completely avoiding the use of “statistically significant.”
Jan 7, 2020 — Does Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection Work? — Science update. Added a couple new references and did a little organizing and editing while I was at it. PRP for muscle strain is now clearly a big fat nothing burger. I suspect other indications will follow suit as the evidence quality continues to accumulate.
Jan 7, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New chapter, a case study about chronic hip pain decisively resolved by unusually intense massage —
Jan 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Added sub-topic, soft knee bracing — Expanded the scope of the section to include soft bracing as well as taping and strapping.
Jan 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update — Just added a couple references.
Jan 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New chapter, skiing considerations —
Jan 6, 2020 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added sub-topic, hard and soft knee bracing — Expanded the scope of the section to include soft and hard bracing as well as taping and strapping.
Jan 5, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New chapter, diagnostic ultrasound —
Jan 5, 2020 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, about the role of alcohol — Alcohol has come up in a variety of ways. There’s a need to reconcile them.
Jan 5, 2020 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New sub-topic, oral corticosteroids — Compared and contrasted oral and injected corticosteroids; added some colour/context about anabolic steroids.
Jan 3, 2020 — Ugly Bags of Mostly Water — Added a substantive footnote about the cost of the chemical ingredients of a human.
Jan 3, 2020 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Audio version reboot — The audio version of this article has been re-recorded from scratch, including dozens of updates over the last couple years. I’ve also changed the way I produce audio versions so that I can easily updated individual chapters in the future. The audio is available on request to visually impaired readers, and as a perk for all eboxed set customers.
Dec 29, 2019 — Many Pages — One of the largest ever batches of minor corrections: dozens of typos and other little glitches scattered all over the domain. Nothing all that important on its own, of course, but it definitely makes a difference collectively. My thanks to the many readers who reported errors in 2019!
Dec 25, 2019 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Comprehensive edit — All kinds of little corrections and improvements, collectively significant.
Dec 24, 2019 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added disclaimer and acknowledgement of reader concerns about the topic of leaky gut syndrome as a cause of systemic inflammation.
Dec 19, 2019 — The Myth of Healing Hands — Added a terrific quote from a former energy worker.
Dec 19, 2019 — Do You Believe in Qi? — Added a terrific quote from a former energy worker.
Dec 19, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Major upgrade, Botox chapter — More detail, editorial colour, and references.
Dec 14, 2019 — You Might Just Be Weird — Added nerve root compression symptom pattern variability, which has an at least partly anatomical basis.
Dec 14, 2019 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Major upgrade, strength training — Completely rewritten and greatly expanded. Previously this chapter was just a brief dismissal of the value of corrective strength training for shin splints — which wasn’t wrong in itself, but it was inadequate, and in particular it neglected the genuinely valuable role that strength training can play in rehab, even if it can’t “fix” anything.
Dec 13, 2019 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — New section with much more detail about vagus nerve stimulation and the inflammatory reflex.
Dec 13, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added several interesting details about nerve root compression symptom pattern variability, with references.
Dec 13, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added several interesting details about nerve root compression symptom pattern variability, with references.
Dec 13, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor editing — Minor editing here and there all over the book… but also organizing, planning, and paving the way for more updates. My work here is never done.
Dec 9, 2019 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major upgrade, hip and thigh pain section — Much clearer and more thorough integration of greater trochanteric pain syndrome.
Dec 4, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Book launch — The headache guide has been free since I first introduced it in the early 2013. Six years and hundreds of hours of development later, it joins my inventory of full-blown books. It’s the second addition in 2019 (after frozen shoulder this summer), after years without any new ones. It is now for sale for $20 USD. All existing boxed set customers will have access automatically — someone who bought a set in 2009 is getting a new book out of that purchase a decade later.
Dec 3, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, all about treating jaw issues —
Nov 30, 2019 — The Trouble with Chairs — Science update, added citation to Akins et al on the effect of mutiple days of laziness on exercise benefits (hint: it’s not good).
Nov 28, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, the role of the jaw in headache —
Nov 27, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section, Muscle relaxants (Robaxin, Robaxacet, etc), psychoactives, and sedatives — Previously coverage of muscle relaxants was limited to a small section of the medications chapter. This new chapter provides about 10x more information.
Nov 23, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, Muscle relaxants (Robaxin, Robaxacet, etc), psychoactives, and sedatives — Previously coverage of muscle relaxants was limited to a small section of another chapter. This new chapter provides about 10x more information and is a complete reboot of the topic in this book.
Nov 23, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, cannabinoids (finally) —
Nov 23, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, Muscle relaxants (Robaxin, Robaxacet, etc), psychoactives, and sedatives —
Nov 22, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section, cannabinoids (finally) —
Nov 22, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, cannabinoids (finally) —
Nov 22, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, cannabinoids (finally) —
Nov 22, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor improvement, functional freezing chapter — Minor but interesting: a couple new paragraphs about joint stiffness as a non-specific protective mechanism that may be analogous to functional freezing of the shoulder.
Nov 21, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Major update, muscle relaxants — Added a lot more detail, especially about psychoactive “muscle relaxants,” and many new references.
Nov 16, 2019 — Healer Syndrome — Added a substantial discussion of the silly idea that a healer isn’t actually doing the heavy lifting, but is merely facilitating self-healing.
Nov 16, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Added colour — Added a minor but very amusing anecdote about a bizarre cause of headaches.
Nov 16, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New chapter, Muscle relaxants (Robaxin, Robaxacet, etc), psychoactives, and sedatives —
Nov 15, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, a case study that blurs the line between tension headache and migraine —
Nov 12, 2019 — Organ Health Does Not Depend on Spinal Nerves! — Science update — Discussed acute effects of SMT on the parasympathetic nervous system, and cited Picchiottino et al on the lack of clinically significant effects.
Nov 12, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Expanded, other causes of chronic widespread pain — Added two more sub-topics: psychological amplification and true psychosomatic pain.
Nov 12, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Expanded, other causes of regional pain — Added three sub-topics: specific pain system dysfunction, spatial summation, and claudication.
Nov 12, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update, subluxation chapter — Added references to support “arthritis isn’t wear-and-tear.” Substantial additional editing and clarifications throughout the chapter.
Nov 6, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Expansion — Previously this chapter was just about massage in general and foam rolling in particular. I’ve widened the scope to address the underlying assumption that there’s a need to “loosen” the quads, and now cover both stretch and massage.
Nov 5, 2019 — Get in the Pool for Pain — New section, “Deeper mysteries,” about hard-to-explain effects of immersion on severe chronic pain and fatigue.
Nov 4, 2019 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section, a case study of Frank the “adhesion machine” —
Nov 4, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Major upgrade — Much more detailed discussion of spinal manipulative therapy.
Nov 1, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Upgraded the rationale and referencing for icing in the absence of acute inflammation.
Nov 1, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Major science update — Updated the discussion of inflammation with an important new subsection, “The other side of the story: don’t count inflammation out quite yet,” based mainly on the fascinating research of Dakin (among others).
Oct 31, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Significant revision — To be candid, my comparisons of neck and back pain seemed a little boring and not all that helpful when I reviewed them recently, so I put in some work to make the chapter more useful and interesting.
Oct 31, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Minor maintenance — Updated about a dozen broken links.
Oct 30, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New chapter, about coarse tissue vibration —
Oct 28, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New section, more exotic cervicogenic headaches —
Oct 28, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update, nature of the beast — Added an interesting reference about a link between carpal tunnel syndrome and heart diease, for context and comparison.
Oct 26, 2019 — The Tyranny of Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness — The first update to this article in more than three years is minor but hilarious: snarking about the corporate yoga prescription thing.
Oct 25, 2019 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section, “Maximize outlets for frustration.”
Oct 25, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — This is probably the final update about antibiotics for back pain. It’s looking pretty closed. Famous last words? We’ll see.
Oct 24, 2019 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Minor but nice addition of a “good news” reference about the permanence of a key exercise benefit.
Oct 24, 2019 — Strength Training Frequency — Minor but nice addition of a good-news reference about the permanence of a key change in trained muscle.
Oct 24, 2019 — Organ Health Does Not Depend on Spinal Nerves! — Added a small section responding to the criticism that this article is attacking a straw man, a belief that modern chiropractors don’t really have. (They really do, actually. In substantial numbers.)
Oct 24, 2019 — The Chiropractic Controversies — Added a couple sources regarding the prevalance and persistence of subluxation-based chiropractic, most notably Mirtz et al.
Oct 24, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Expanded — Added digital motion X-ray, homeopathy, supplements, electroacupuncture, and Epsom salts baths to the hall of treatment shame, making it more or less complete for now.
Oct 18, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor addition — Adding a little information about inversion tables for neck traction.
Oct 18, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New section, hall of treatment shame —
Oct 18, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, aquatic therapy —
Oct 15, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update — Added a really huge footnote providing patient and physician guidance on the topic of diagnostic nerve blocks, with several references.
Oct 15, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New intro, etiology — Added a substantive intro the nature-of-the-beast chapters of the tutorial.
Oct 11, 2019 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Added good quality reference, Munteanu et al, a very negative trial of custom orthoses for Achilles tendinitis.
Oct 11, 2019 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — New section, “Orthotics for Achilles tendinitis,” based mainly only Munteanu et al.
Oct 7, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, red wine and other triggers (not just for migraines) —
Oct 4, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major revision, hamstring stretching chapter — Although the bottom line remains essentially the same, this chapter is now much higher quality in every way. More information, clearer, and fully up-to-date scientifically.
Sep 28, 2019 — The Myth of Healing Hands — Added a sidebar about all the other major vitalistic therapies. Although primarily about “therapeutic touch,” I am gradually turning this article into a more general one about energy medicine.
Sep 28, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section, about pathological vulnerability to strains —
Sep 27, 2019 — Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — Science update: cited and discussed Steffens et al on back pain risk factors related to lifting.
Sep 25, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Added more, secondary headaches chapter — Covered CSF leaks, or “upright headache.”
Sep 22, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Rewritten, “meltdown” cases — Completely rewritten to reflect the many things I have learned about severe chornic widespread pain over the last several years. Exploring the concept of chronic-acute pain is probably the most meaningful addition.
Sep 22, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Added more, secondary headaches chapter — Covered aneurysms that masquerade as tension headaches, and important safety-first update.
Sep 21, 2019 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Science update, magnesium as a pain killer — Cited a more recent review of the science on this topic, Peng. Still negative. Did some related editing.
Sep 20, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter, “Headache, neck pain, and ‘cricks’” —
Sep 12, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — More information, headache triggers — Added more detail, with an actual citation about ponytail headaches (and the implications), and much more thorough coverage of computer display position.
Sep 11, 2019 — Does Posture Matter? — Science update, risks of poor posture — Added some badly needed substantiation of my story that awkward postures can sometimes directly trigger episodes of body pain.
Sep 10, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded, bogus treatments list — Added Reiki and magnet therapy, plus a bunch of other minor improvements.
Sep 10, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded, massage therapy chapter — Added discussion of general health benefits of massage therapy.
Sep 6, 2019 — Quite a Stretch — New section, stretching dosage — Some new content, and some old content transplanted from other sections. There’s certainly more to do on dosage, but I think it’s a solid summary so far.
Sep 6, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Rewritten again, sleep posture etc — This chapter was rewritten along with the chapter on causes of morning back pain, and is about double its previous size.
Sep 6, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Rewritten again, morning back pain chapter — This chapter is vastly expanded. In fact, it is now one of the largest chapters in any of my books.
Sep 5, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added new section: “All in your head: pure psychosomatic pain.”
Sep 5, 2019 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added the interesting example of vaginismus and pelvic floor spasm to the list of spasm types.
Sep 5, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Addition, differential diagnosis — Added facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, a particularly good example of a condition that causes diagnostic confusion in the shoulder.
Aug 30, 2019 — Does Posture Matter? — Editing — Many minor improvements throughout the article.
Aug 27, 2019 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section, post-surgical lateral knee pain —
Aug 24, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Upgrade, strengthening section — In response to a reader inquiry, I discussed eccentric training, the Alfredson protocol, and the difference between heel drops and heel raises.
Aug 21, 2019 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added quite a bit of recommended reading.
Aug 20, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update, headache and trigger points (muscle knots) — Added a citation to build the case that headaches are linked to muscle soreness.
Aug 20, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Clarifications, intro the nature of tension headaches — Revised for clarity, added a reference.
Aug 19, 2019 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Upgraded, the logical limits of any one pain treatment — Just more and clearer information.
Aug 17, 2019 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Much more detailed information, and more science, about heel drops and the Alfredson protocol.
Aug 16, 2019 — The Myth of Healing Hands — New section, “Matter/energy equivalence and quantum rationalizations.”
Aug 16, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added minor-but-nice perspective about the “official” major categories of causes of pain. Pie chart included.
Aug 16, 2019 — Progressive Training — New section (first update here in ages): “You can recover from practically anything with baby steps… but not everything.”
Aug 16, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, sacroiliac joint dysfunction —
Aug 14, 2019 — Popular but Weird & Dangerous Cures — Added drinking bleach, inspired by the FDA’s bizarre warning about it.
Aug 13, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added minor but very interesting new citation about the cause of chronic Lyme disease (see Jutras)
Aug 13, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major revisions underway — This medical factors part of the book is being revised. It was originally written by a physician collaborator, and I am now taking over, modernizing it until I’m happy to put my own name to it.
Aug 12, 2019 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor improvement — Added more detailed explanation of testing popliteal tendon.
Aug 8, 2019 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Added small new section: “Remember, exercise is also an anti-inflammatory medication.”
Aug 8, 2019 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Added new section: “Exercise is also an anti-inflammatory medication.”
Aug 7, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Book launch — The frozen shoulder guide has been free since I first introduced it in the summer of 2016. Two years and hundreds of hours of development later, I am putting it behind the paywall, the first addition to my inventory of ebooks in many years. It is for sale for $20 USD. All existing boxed set customers will get access automatically — someone who bought a set in 2009 is getting a new book out of that purchase a decade later.
Aug 2, 2019 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — New section, “Who cites so badly? Dramatis personae.” The bullshitter, the lightweight, and the bad scientist.
Aug 1, 2019 — The Art of Rest — Added new section, “Is there any science about how well resting works, or the best way to do it?”
Aug 1, 2019 — Get in the Pool for Pain — Some editing and minor corrections.
Aug 1, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded — Added a fascinating cautionary tale of surgery gone wrong.
Aug 1, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, testing for functional limitations —
Aug 1, 2019 — Many Pages — Added distinctive styling of on-page links: they are now a nice sage green, like this (links to the top of the page). PainScience.com has a lot of huge articles with dozens or even hundreds of links to sections/chapters. Those links have always looked identical to links to other websites, but they are quite different, they should look different, and now they do!
Jul 31, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Expanded, surgery chapter — Added much more information about general issues with orthopedic surgeries. Reviewed a popular but terrible surgery — blocking ankle pronation with a screw in the joint! Yikes.
Jul 31, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor addition — Added a sub-section about tarsal tunnel syndrome
Jul 31, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor addition, resting pitfalls — Added a brief discussion of an important principle: exercise is a pain-killer! Sometimes.
Jul 31, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section, evidence for resting —
Jul 31, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update, yoga — A minor science update, long overdue. No change to the bottom line, just more evidence that yoga isn’t exactly curing most people’s back pain.
Jul 31, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, aquatic therapy, flotation, Epsom salts —
Jul 31, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, about windows of opportunity —
Jul 30, 2019 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added a couple of particularly interesting (but minor) points about the effect of stress on immunity. Also added a primer on neuroinflammation.
Jul 30, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited, the unpredictability of TrP symptoms — Thoroughly edited, and added a disclaimer about “special pleading.”
Jul 30, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expansion — Added a detailed overview of all the treatment options reviewed in this tutorial.
Jul 29, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, Tiger Balm, A535, and friends —
Jul 25, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added new section about chronic immune activation after infection.
Jul 25, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, reviewing all the most bogus treatments for frozen shoulder. —
Jul 24, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Added more, secondary headaches chapter — Added jaw pain and eye strain, and also (more significantly) recruited both topics into later chapters in service of other points.
Jul 24, 2019 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Added section, “Surgical repair of tendon rupture,” and some more specific information about early mobilizations.
Jul 23, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Optimized — A rewrite inspired by recent work on a dedicated article about vulnerability to chronic pain. This chapter is now both shorter and yet actually broader in scope.
Jul 23, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added a citation to Mäntyselkä about the relationship between neck pain and being out of shape.
Jul 23, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Clarification — Made it clear that frozen shoulder is a particularly strong example of an important phenomenon, the importance of non-specific risk factors in chronic pain.
Jul 21, 2019 — Eccentric Contraction — New section, a brief summary of “Eccentric contractions as a treatment for muscle strain.”
Jul 20, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Editing, muscle flossing chapter — Polish, some more details, and better integration into the book.
Jul 20, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Editing, strength chapter — Polish, some more details, and better integration into the book.
Jul 19, 2019 — Why So “Negative”? — Added four more tips for diplomatic critical analysis.
Jul 17, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Two new sections about mitochondrial disease and neuroinflammation, plus a bunch of editing to integrate those topics with some of the others. Also changed the introduction to emphasize that chronic pain is seriously multifactorial, some critical context previously neglected.
Jul 17, 2019 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section, vulnerability —
Jul 15, 2019 — Does Fascia Matter? — General edit — Corrected a large batch typos and other minor errors generously compiled by reader M.M.
Jul 13, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major revision, prolotherapy — Thorough science update and much more detail. Prolotherapy has gotten a bit of a revival in the last few years, and it’s persistence in the marketplace justifies more detailed coverage of the topic. Unfortunately, the bottom line hasn’t budged: still not recommended for back pain.
Jul 9, 2019 — Does Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection Work? — General editing and minor updates. Spelled out the relationship to other cell and stem cell therapies much more clearly than before.
Jul 9, 2019 — Does Cartilage Regeneration Work? — New section, “Relationship to other cell and stem cell therapies.”
Jul 9, 2019 — Salamander and Regeneration Science — New section, “Cells as medicine: the use of regenerative medicine for injuries and chronic pain.”
Jul 8, 2019 — Does Craniosacral Therapy Work? — General editing from top to bottom.
Jul 6, 2019 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added another pathological cause of anxiety: high somatic awareness caused by hyposerotonemia (see Khoury et al).
Jul 5, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Improved, introduction to basic trigger point therapy — Extensive editing and improvements throughout all the basic treatment sections. I added many key points and tips while staying within the scope of “basic” (a tricky balance), mining years of writing on this topic for a wide variety of refinements and carefully boiling them down to their essentials. Several ideas I consider obsolete were also removed. The Quick Reference Guide was also updated to match.
Jul 1, 2019 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section —
Jul 1, 2019 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Re-written — Although I have always liked describing fibromyalgia as a “medical UFO,” I was never really happy with my explanation of that analogy. Today I re-wrote it, clearer and briefer, and I think I finally got it right.
Jun 29, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a section about a newly identified common genetic defect linked to exaggerated awareness all kinds of sensation. Really fascinating.
Jun 27, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Huge expansion, trigger point therapy — Before the update: just a few paragraphs about massage for headache. After: a 2000-word whirlwind tour of the world of trigger point therapy, spelling out the relevance to headache in detail and plenty of specific advice.
Jun 27, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New chapter, trigger point therapy — Before the update: just a couple of paragraphs about self-massage of trigger points. After: now there’s a concise but complete 2000-word whirlwind tour of the world of trigger point therapy, spelling out the relevance to frozen shoulder and plenty of specific advice for frozen shoulder patients.
Jun 26, 2019 — Many Pages — Hundreds of old URLs for bibliographic references have now been updated.
Jun 22, 2019 — Quite a Stretch — New section, on stretching, inflammation, and aging —
Jun 20, 2019 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Added discussion of cluneal nerve entrapment and trochanter pain syndrome to the diagnosis section.
Jun 19, 2019 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section —
Jun 19, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Upgraded — Added more detail about greater trochanteric pain syndrome, making the section a little more useful to many readers.
Jun 18, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update, spinal manipulation chapter — An “update” with an old citation, but a good one.
Jun 18, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Expanded — A deeper exploration of cervicogenic headache has begun, based mainly on Bogduk. I added a nice case study, more detail to both the arguments for and against, and a nomenclature note.
Jun 17, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added section about benzodiazepene (tranquilizer) withdrawal.
Jun 17, 2019 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added quite a bit of speculation about factors that might contribute to inflammaging, mainly related to immunity.
Jun 17, 2019 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added a section about pollutants and their potential contribution to inflammaging.
Jun 14, 2019 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added a little more detail about cramps.
Jun 13, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added section about social isolation and loneliness, the first of a series that I will be adding about non-specific vulnerabilities to illness and chronic pain.
Jun 7, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Rewritten, definition of tension headache — Completely revised the introduction to the definition of a tension headache. I now discuss the two main interpretations of this very vague term. Another major goal was to change the scope of the article, so that it will include cervicogenic headache in the future. While it will never be a guide to all kinds of headache, it’s clear that “tension headache” alone was too limiting. What I’m really interested in is helping readers troubleshoot any non-migraine, non-ominous headache… which covers a lot more ground than just “tension” headaches.
Jun 6, 2019 — Muscle Pain as an Injury Complication — Thoroughly edited and modernized.
Jun 6, 2019 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Added brief but important coverage of stress-induced visceral sensitization.
Jun 1, 2019 — Tennis Elbow Guide — New section: “Medications for tennis elbow.”
May 28, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Revised, chapter about TrPs as a complication of injury — Significantly expanded and modernized (for the first time since it was originally written, I think).
May 27, 2019 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Audio version reboot — I just re-did the audio version of this article, including dozens of updates in recent years. I’ve also changed the way I produce audio versions so that I can easily updated individual chapters in the future. The audio is available on request to visually impaired readers, and as a perk for all eboxed set customers.
May 23, 2019 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — More detail — Added more information about magnesium supplementation as it relates to muscle cramping.
May 22, 2019 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added information and citations about anxiety as a risk factor for injury. Finally cleaned up and modernized my muddled thoughts on the hiding of anxiety and its physical and biological signs.
May 22, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Rewritten, morning symptoms chapter — Heavily revised to basically be an abdridged version of the article 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain, focusing on trigger points. This section had been aging poorly, full of unsubstantiated speculation and dubious premises. It’s on firmer footing now.
May 21, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update, muscle pain chapter — Updated references related to the relationship between trigger points and headache.
May 21, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New sub-topic — Fascinating addition to the tutorial: “Shoulder injury related to vaccine administration.”
May 21, 2019 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Science update: added some fresh evidence about the efficacy of standard rehab methods (not bad, not great either).
May 18, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Major enhancement, strength training section — Added an extremely useful evidence-based strength training recommendation. This is as good as any update gets!
May 17, 2019 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Expanded, differential diagnosis section — Added radiculopathy, tendinopathy, and more detail about specific peripheral neuropathies.
May 17, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section, all about joint noise —
May 17, 2019 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section, all about joint noise —
May 16, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Upgrade, strengthening section — A small but good thing: embedded a high quality demo video for the specialized heel raise I recommend.
May 16, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Updated — Added some good expert quotes and optimistic perspective on pain education from Moseley.
May 16, 2019 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Added section about regenerative medicine.
May 16, 2019 — Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Added section about eccentric exercise. Improved layout of embedded video of heel raises. Lots of editing. Added caveats about pain-killers.
May 13, 2019 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — Added a new citation (Munk) that reduces my confidence in the available scientific evidence on this topic: it may be closer to “inadequate” than “negative.” My conclusions have been softened accordingly.
May 11, 2019 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — Added a section about ischemic pressure: highly localized “flushing” of tissues. Elaborated on the plausibility of scalene hypertrophy. Added an aside about levels of confidence in myth-busting.
May 10, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Editing — Some clarifications about the mechanism of “flushing” and whether uncomfortable massage intensity can be justified for that reason.
May 10, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited, ischemic pressure technique — Clarified, modernized, and expanded a little bit, especially integrating new information about the effect of massage of tissue fluids and circulation.
May 9, 2019 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — Added a section thoroughly reporting on Franklin et al, which challenges my skeptical bias. Also added a fun quote.
May 8, 2019 — Does Massage Increase Circulation? — Added citation about the effect of relaxation on circulation. Made it clearer that this is not an anti-massage article. Added tourniquet example to help explain circulation “increase.” Added a new section, “The CPR thought experiment.” Fixed several typos.
May 5, 2019 — Does Craniosacral Therapy Work? — Short new section comparing and contrasting beliefs about increase circulation of cerebrospinal fluid versus blood.
May 3, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — A particularly disappointing, predictable update on 2010’s overhyped news about methylene blue.
May 3, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — A particularly disappointing, predictable update on 2010’s overhyped news about methylene blue.
Apr 27, 2019 — Massage Therapy for Tennis Elbow and Wrist Pain — Editing and modernization with miscellaneous science updates (e.g. regarding inflammation and tendinitis), and taming the claims about trigger points (excessive enthusiasm dating back to the 2000s still being dialed back).
Apr 27, 2019 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — New section: “Leaky gut syndrome: not a real cause of inflammation.”
Apr 27, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Rewritten — Totally revised and tripled in length, this chapter is “like new.” I also moved it to the diagnosis section of the book to give it greater importance.
Apr 26, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — More detail, strengthening chapter — Added discussion of one vs two-footed raises and a more detailed progression example.
Apr 26, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — More information, cast boot chapter — Added discussion of actual plaster casts, comparing and contrasting with cast boots.
Apr 26, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Expanded — Miscellaneous improvements, and I added discussion of the “space making” surgeries (e.g. posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy).
Apr 25, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Upgrade, on the erratic quality of chronic low back pain — Modernized the trigger point content and added several paragraphs about sensitization as well.
Apr 24, 2019 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — New section about vibration.
Apr 24, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded — Imaging is now discussed in its own small section, and I beefed it up with information about the role of diagnostic ultrasound.
Mar 29, 2019 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Added the term “amplified pain,” discussed and briefly reviewed the notorious Invisibilia episode about it, and added an explanation that exposure therapy can be conservative or aggressive.
Mar 25, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited, differential diagnosis — A thorough editing, especially to the information about frozen shoulder, part of an ongoing effort to upgrade differential diagnosis information in the book.
Mar 24, 2019 — Strength Training Frequency — Added article abstract. And I also actually removed some content from the article: legacy stuff I simply felt was no longer necessary to make the point effectively. So it’s a bit shorter and sweeter now.
Mar 24, 2019 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Added fascinating reference about the lack of turnover in tendon tissue (Heinemeier).
Mar 24, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New chapter, Women and plantar fasciitis: the possible role of estrogen —
Mar 24, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor upgrade — Added some information about the craving for stretch, its implications, and the problem with trying to stretch the suboccipitals.
Mar 24, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Pure reinforcement: cited Artus 2010 and Artus 2014, backing up Machado.
Mar 23, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a listed other possibilities that I’m considering for future updates. I think the list itself has value, even without elaboration.
Mar 23, 2019 — Knee Replacement Surgery Doubts — New section: “Is pain after surgery a complication or a normal side effect?”
Mar 23, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited, trigger point palpation — Thoroughly edited for clarity. Stronger focus on the many ways palpation can go wrong.
Mar 19, 2019 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Edited and expanded, resting chapter — Added a new basic concept to the introduction, added discussion and recommendations about total rest, and clarified several other points.
Mar 18, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Addition — Added discussion of MSG.
Mar 18, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Added information and citations on the condition of the joint in severe cases, and the link to Dupuytren’s contracture.
Mar 17, 2019 — Quite a Stretch — Science update — Added five citations showing that stretching can increase flexibility.
Mar 17, 2019 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — Added clearer acknowledgement of the odious term “functional pain,” and adopted a new preferred term for that tricky “other” category of pain: primary pain, as proposed by Schechter. Hat tip to Rachel Z. for inspiring this line of thinking.
Mar 16, 2019 — The Unstretchables — Two new sections: “Citation needed?” and “Some other examples of unstretchables, or only partially stretchables.” Also implemented a huge improvement to readability on small screens. Feel more welcome, smartphone readers!
Mar 16, 2019 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Big new chapter, about the role of fascia in compartment syndrome —
Mar 16, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section, minor new sub-topic: Is it possible to exercise to recovery while still in some pain? —
Mar 16, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Edited, worst case scenarios with pushing through the pain — Just cleaned it up, clarified, made it less about runners exclusively.
Mar 12, 2019 — Stuck in My Throat — Clarified gargling self-treatment tip and added another: gentle strength training for the neck/throat.
Mar 10, 2019 — Massage Does Not Reduce Inflammation — Described another methodological concern, and cited some newer exercise soreness science that casts even more doubt on the idea that massage reduces inflammation.
Mar 5, 2019 — Insomnia Until it Hurts — Added citation to Krause, a brain study of sleep deprivation and pain, adding to the mountain of evidence that losing sleep is directly painful.
Mar 5, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — More information, the role of stress — Added content about personality types and the prevalence of concealed stress and anxiety, inspired by Sapolsky.
Feb 26, 2019 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Update/correction — Meniscal fraying is no longer a good example of a clearly structural problem with a clear structural solution, not that we know that so much mensical repair surgery is ineffective. Corrected and clarified
Feb 22, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Revision, adhesions — A substantial editing of this topic for the first time in years, eliminating a fair bit of quaint naivete and credulity from the good ol’ days when I still didn’t know just how deep these waters run.
Feb 19, 2019 — Trigger Points on Trial — Added citation to another rebuttal to Quintner et al: see Critique of Quintner et al. 2015.
Feb 19, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section, about reassuring explanations for why neck pain is so common —
Feb 16, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, about the pros and cons of getting an MRI —
Feb 16, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Elaborated — Added much more information about stress reduction and breathing exercises
Feb 16, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Major improvements — Re-organized and chapterized treatment recommendations and reviews, added more of an introduction. Many small additions.
Feb 15, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Addition, differential diagnosis section — Added Baxter’s neuritis, the carpal tunnel syndrome of the foot.
Feb 15, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section, about Baxter’s neuritis —
Feb 15, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, about cases caused by infection after surgery —
Feb 14, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update, risk of hurting nerve — Extended the discussion of vulnerability to include “sensitization.”
Feb 14, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Editing, overdiagnosis of nerve pain — This chapter now plays nicer with related sub-topics, and I’ve emphasized the differential diagnosis context a little more.
Feb 9, 2019 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — New section: “Spatial summation and why some body areas suffer more, like the neck and back.”
Jan 25, 2019 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update — Quirky sidebar about the relationship between running softly and quietly.
Jan 25, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section, review of a popular video about “patellar release” —
Jan 24, 2019 — Quite a Stretch — Reorganized — I’ve shuffled and renamed many sections, plus a bunch of editing, to reflect new priorities for the article going forward: a more comprehensive review of all stretching sub-topics, but especially stretching as a component of injury rehab and treatment for chronic pain. Several significant changes are planned for 2019.
Jan 23, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section, “The usual suspects: tackling the things that make all kinds of pain worse” —
Jan 21, 2019 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — New sub-topic — Added some thoughts and a new citation about muscle “imbalances” (over and under-developed muscles on one side or the other).
Jan 19, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Expansion, discussion of specific back pain — Today I added a little depth on a couple key points, and commentary on a really interesting example of specific spinal pain from Dr. Stu “There’s No Such Thing As Non-Specific Back Pain” McGill.
Jan 19, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Upgraded — Substantial upgrade to review of evidence for over-the-counter medications.
Jan 19, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor science update — Added support from another researcher (Bunker) for abolishing the term “adhesive capsulitis.”
Jan 19, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Added information about the prevalence of frozen shoulder in the general population and in diabetics.
Jan 16, 2019 — The Dubious Science of Kinesiology Tape — Added three citations showing a lack of effect of taping on pain.
Jan 13, 2019 — Stuck in My Throat — Added story and information about tonsil stones showing up on CT scans.
Jan 12, 2019 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Just one citation added, but a neat one: Marsolais et al found that anti-inflammatory meds suppressed some gross signs of inflammation in tendinopathy, but had no other benefit. Good to know.
Jan 8, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Like new, blood flow restriction training — Substantial expansion of my coverage of this topic.
Jan 6, 2019 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section, “Why is exercising helpful for stress? It simulates what stress is trying to prepare us for.”
Jan 5, 2019 — Diagnosing Runner’s Knee — Added a footnote listing several other conditions that can mimic ITBS and/or PFPS.
Jan 5, 2019 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update, medications — Finally added hard evidence of the obvious — over-the-counter pain meds don’t really work — and got into some nuances.
Jan 5, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Clarification, diagnosis section — Made it clear that frozen shoulder is a diagnosis of exclusion.
Jan 5, 2019 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Addition, nature of the beast — Defined the condition more precisely and thoroughly. Added a substantive footnote about the exact anatomy affected.
Jan 4, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Addition, hypermobility section — Added excerpt from a comedic and interesting article about a patient with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome who’s shoulder was dislocated by a massage.
Jan 4, 2019 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update, regenerative medicine section — Added brief discussion of the poor state of evidence for stem cell therapy, citing Pas et al.
Jan 4, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update, regenerative medicine section — Added brief discussion of the poor state of evidence for stem cell therapy, citing Pas et al.
Jan 4, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor addition, resting strategy — Added sidebar about crutches and canes.
Jan 4, 2019 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Additions, differential diagnosis — After long neglect, I finally added some new points to this section, regarding tendinitis and infrapatellar fat pad impingement fat pad syndrome.
Jan 4, 2019 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update, regenerative medicine section — Added brief discussion of the poor state of evidence for stem cell therapy, citing Pas et al.
Jan 3, 2019 — Eccentric Contraction — New section, a brief summary of “Eccentric contractions as a treatment for tendinopathy.”
Dec 15, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Upgraded — There’s a new sub-section about the role of stress in any kind of chronic pain, and bunch of revision so that the section is more focused on the concept of vulnerability. This is a setup for more practical advice, still to come, about how to attempt to be less vulnerable.
Dec 13, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Expansion — Continued the process of making this section into a more substantive exploration of the idea of specific back pain, and added a new example, a case study of back pain caused by a tumour on a nerve root.
Dec 12, 2018 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — New section: “Non-obvious nerve entrapment.”
Dec 12, 2018 — Contrast Hydrotherapy — New section, based on Higgins et al: “Keep it shallow (because contrasting is unlikely to have much effect on deeper tissues).”
Dec 8, 2018 — Does Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection Work? — Cited Mascarenhas et al on PRP for osteoarthritis (and it’s the usual story: garbage in, garbage out, no conclusion, no compelling evidence).
Dec 6, 2018 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section —
Dec 6, 2018 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New sub-topic — Added leaky gut syndrome.
Dec 4, 2018 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Completely renovated the discussion of the effect of posture on mood and anxiety, especially upgrading the references substantially, after reading Gronau et al. My previous writing on this topic was dreadful, amateurish stuff leftover from the earliest days of this website — good riddance.
Dec 4, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Additions — Added an informative and entertaining example.
Dec 3, 2018 — Does Posture Matter? — Science update — Updated referencing and footnotes about “power posing.”
Nov 28, 2018 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Modernization, trigger point section — Added clearer and more detailed acknowledgement of the controversies and scientific uncertainties about trigger points.
Nov 27, 2018 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section, nerve entrapment —
Nov 27, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Expanded, peripheral neuropathy hypothesis — Added substantially to the section with exploration of two examples of peripheral neuropathy that may be mistaken for trigger points (but only if you’re not very good at this stuff).
Nov 24, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Improvements, icing section — Edit for clarity and keeping up with the times, especially acknowledging changes in the science of inflammation of repetitive strain injuries. Also added a new sub-section on “the frozen water bottle trick.”
Nov 23, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section, Electric exercise: electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) —
Nov 23, 2018 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update, resting and load management — Explored evidence-base and scientific plausibility of resting recommendations.
Nov 23, 2018 — Many Pages — I revised the PainScience.com menu. It is now (finally) based on topics, which I hope readers will find more useful than the rather meaningless categories that were there for years (“articles” doesn’t really tell you what you are going to find — might as well have had a link to “stuff”). The new topic items will take readers to curated indexes of content organized into subcategories. Also new: a sitemap (of sorts), and the help page and store are now main menu items as well.
Nov 22, 2018 — The Trouble with Chairs — Science updated, added citation to Vallance et al on the risks of sitting versus smoking.
Nov 21, 2018 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — New section: “Fast and slow pain: yet another way to categorize.”
Nov 21, 2018 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Nov 20, 2018 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Example added — New sub-section, “A perfect example of a structural problem,” based on a fascinating case study reported by Aota.
Nov 17, 2018 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Major expansion — Added substantial coverage of the basics of magnesium and sulfate deficiency and supplementation. Speaking of deficiency, the absence of this information was a major oversight for many years. Despite it’s great size and thoroughness, this sub-topic was strangely missing, but that deficiency has now been largely addressed.
Nov 15, 2018 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — New section on cherry-picking and confirmation bias in evaluating studies. This article is now quite a comprehensive review of how citing can go wrong.
Nov 14, 2018 — Massage Therapy for Low Back Pain (So Low That It’s Not In the Back) — New section: “Confusion with cluneal nerve impingement.”
Nov 11, 2018 — Modality Empires — New section: “‘Success rates’ are meaningless.”
Nov 10, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Editing, strength section — Just making the same points a bit more clearly.
Nov 6, 2018 — Poisoned by Massage — New section and sub-topic, “A reader’s rhabdo story (and the chilling possibility that some people are much more vulnerable than others).”
Nov 2, 2018 — Does Fascia Matter? — New sub-topic — Discussed the relevance of real pathology of connective tissue.
Nov 2, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Editing, hypermobility section — Some minor clarifications and additions.
Nov 1, 2018 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Significant science update: cited Steffens on back pain risk factors, a fascinating study that adds some important data to this article.
Oct 27, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Example added — New sub-section, “A perfect example of a structural problem: cluneal nerve entrapment,” based on a fascinating case study reported by Aota.
Oct 27, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New info — Expanded the “Worst case scenario” discussion with an anecdote about the impact of chronicity: even mild pain is draining when it just won’t quit.
Oct 26, 2018 — Does Ultrasound Therapy Work? — Some science updates for shockwave therapy.
Oct 26, 2018 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Summary of Sapolsky’s explanation for why chronic stress is inflammatory, plus a nice new chart. Good stuff! Answers to questions I have had myself for a looong time.
Oct 26, 2018 — The Not-So-Humble Healer — Added an example of misguided “singular” explanations for chronic pain.
Oct 25, 2018 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New section — This new section starts the process of re-focussing the article on Epsom salts bathing as a form of magnesium supplementation.
Oct 24, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Expanded, dry needling chapter — Added quite a lot of information, especially about risks and harms and how needling supposedly works. This is now a fully-fledged topic summary.
Oct 22, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor science update, steroid injections — Replaced a citation to an old, withdrawn review with a much more recent review (which reached the same conclusions).
Oct 19, 2018 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update, intro to risk factors — Important and interesting expansion of the section inspired by odd science news about the role of perfectionism.
Oct 13, 2018 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — New section: “Morning baths are almost miraculous for some kinds of morning back pain.”
Oct 12, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Editing, crepitus (noise) section — A light re-write, de-emphasizing the dubious link to trigger points.
Oct 12, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Major addition, ‘core’ strength section — Added a substantial new sub-topic: “What if it’s about the coordination, not strength/endurance?” And a minor but fun addition about the DCFs being the “psoas of the neck.” Added anatomy diagram.
Oct 11, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, Desensitization and disinhibition —
Oct 11, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, shockwave ultrasound — Predictably gloomy conclusions! But it’s now here for thoroughness.
Oct 11, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Cited and analyzed Jewell et al with regards to the poor results from physical therapy overall, and massage specifically.
Oct 11, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improved — Significantly improved the answer to the question “How would functional freezing work?” by including sensitization.
Oct 11, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — A small but important update: cited Hollmann et al, who demonstrated in a small study that at least some people with frozen shoulder aren’t frozen when anaesthetized, strongly suggesting that at least some cases are not caused by capsular contracture. Cool and promising.
Oct 9, 2018 — The Insomnia Guide — Added a footnote about the surprising prevalence and relevance of narcolepsy.
Oct 9, 2018 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New sub-topic — Answered reader question about treating bloating, and added some information about the laughably low credibility of claims published by the Epsom Salt Council.
Oct 9, 2018 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — Tiny new section about non-obviously bogus citations: “What if a citation avoids all of these pitfall? It can still be bogus!”
Oct 9, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Rewritten — I started over from scratch on the topic of “spasm.” What I’d written previously was much too simplistic. This chapter is now bigger and more interesting.
Oct 8, 2018 — Electromagnetic Sensitivity Absurdity — Added brief note about EMS-inspired lawsuits.
Oct 6, 2018 — Cold Laser Therapy Reviewed — Added footnote about new Nobel prizes for laser technology, and how it has already been exploited to sell cold laser therapy.
Oct 6, 2018 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor clarification — Added some information about adhesions.
Oct 6, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section, More invasive shockwaves! Tenex and percutaneous ultrasonic fasciotomy (plus Topaz) —
Oct 1, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Expanded, diagnosis section — Added discussion of plica syndrome.
Sep 29, 2018 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Added a brief anecdote about a personal success.
Sep 29, 2018 — Pain Relief from Personal Growth — New (short) section, “Pain management versus coping.”
Sep 29, 2018 — (Almost) Never Use Ice on Low Back Pain! — Added article summary.
Sep 28, 2018 — Quite a Stretch — Minor addition, flexibility section — Added an anecdote from the world of elite distance running, about Eliud Kipchoge’s inability to touch his toes.
Sep 28, 2018 — Strength Training Frequency — New canonical citation for the thesis of the article, the best evidence to date that “less is not less”: Schoenfeld et al.
Sep 28, 2018 — Science versus Experience in Musculoskeletal Medicine — Added minor point about how new positive evidence affects a record of negative evidence.
Sep 28, 2018 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section, “If anxiety causes pain, does that mean the pain is ‘all in your head’”? (Of course not.)
Sep 27, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Substantial editing, neuropathy sections — Merged content from the back and neck pain tutorials, resulting in major upgrades to two important sections in both books.
Sep 27, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Substantial editing, neuropathy sections — Merged content from the back and neck pain tutorials, resulting in major upgrades to two important sections in both books.
Sep 27, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Substantial editing, neuropathy sections — Merged content from the back and neck pain tutorials, resulting in major upgrades to two important sections in both books.
Sep 27, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Substantial editing, neuropathy sections — Merged content from the back and neck pain tutorials, resulting in major upgrades to two important sections in both books.
Sep 25, 2018 — Toxins, Schmoxins! — Added much more information about real poisons and toxins, plus more specific debunking of some popular detox concepts (sweating it out, ionic foot baths, and Epsom salts).
Sep 25, 2018 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Major revisions and more to do on the topic of “spasm,” protective spasm, and pain-spasm-pain vicious cycling. Also, new sections about muscle relaxants and sedatives.
Sep 23, 2018 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Added citation to meta-analysis of custom foot orthoses for the treatment of foot pain.
Sep 23, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section, laser therapy —
Sep 22, 2018 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — Not an important new section, just some interesting extra colour.
Sep 21, 2018 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Expanded — Added an exercise strategy tip based on some expert opinion (Lagerman, Booth).
Sep 20, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added a citation, a negative review.
Sep 20, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — More thorough citing on the topic of dry needling efficacy … and that is probably the last in a year-long series of updates to this section over 2018. This chapter has been well and truly rebooted.
Sep 12, 2018 — Does Cartilage Regeneration Work? — Updated references to CARTICEL and Genyzme to MACI and Vericel, and a bunch of other miscellaneous minor improvements.
Sep 11, 2018 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Major edit — Substantial, diverse editing of all sections about absorption.
Sep 10, 2018 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — New section: “Claudication: the pain of impaired blood flow.”
Sep 8, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Additions — More detailed summary of the troubles with meniscectomy.
Sep 6, 2018 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Started a transition to a stronger focus on treatment advice. Until now, the article has mainly been about raising awareness, without much tangible treatment advice (which is difficult). But I have begun the process of explaining the treatment options in several new sections.
Sep 4, 2018 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New section — Comparing poisons and toxins and providing examples of pollutants and metabolic “wastes.” Important context!
Sep 1, 2018 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New section —
Sep 1, 2018 — Why Drink Water After Massage? — Added an explanation of toxins versus poisons, better examples of toxins, clarifications about the various fates of metabolic products, and more detail about why sweating isn’t excretory/detoxifying.
Aug 31, 2018 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Added an important point about efficacy vs. effectiveness (see Beedie et al and several more examples of adverse effects of strength training.
Aug 29, 2018 — Therapy Babble — Added an xkcd comic, plus some other minor improvements.
Aug 29, 2018 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — New section: “You can’t go wrong getting strong” … or can you? Some hazards of strength training.
Aug 29, 2018 — Extraordinary Health Claims — Article now leads with an anecdote. Some other miscellaneous minor cleanup, especially improved links to other resources.
Aug 29, 2018 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — Added two xkcd comics: “Dubious Study” and “New Study.” This article is now chock-a-block with comics! Probably more comics per square inch than any other page on PainScience.com.
Aug 29, 2018 — You Might Just Be Weird — Added os trignum syndrome; added syndactyly; plus some editing and reorganizing. This article is gradually evolving into something more than just a fun a cabinet of curiosities, as I continue to add clinically significant examples of anatomical variation.
Aug 27, 2018 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section, “Be aware of sneaky causes of pain.” —
Aug 26, 2018 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — New section: “Syphilis.”
Aug 26, 2018 — Pain is Weird — Science update — Cited Stanton, an experiment demonstrating that VR-generated illusions can kill pain effectively, adding to the list of interesting but impractical examples of modifying pain with brain “hacks.”
Aug 26, 2018 — Mind Over Pain — Science update — Cited Stanton, an experiment demonstrating that VR-generated illusions can kill pain effectively, adding to the list of interesting but impractical examples of modifying pain with brain “hacks.”
Aug 25, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, Stretching for frozen shoulder —
Aug 25, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, Strengthening for frozen shoulder —
Aug 24, 2018 — Therapy Babble — Added a small new section about “science crankery.”
Aug 24, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — More detail, relative rest section — Explained in detail how to choose foot-friendly exercises.
Aug 24, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Addition, differential diagnosis section — Added Os trigonum syndrome, AKA “the nutcracker-phenomenon.”
Aug 24, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor improvements — Discussed potential harms of strength training in a little more detail.
Aug 22, 2018 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — New section: “Pain with literally no specific cause.”
Aug 21, 2018 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section —
Aug 17, 2018 — Alternative Medicine’s Choice — Cited and commented on The Lancet’s excellent editorial calling for “a radical shift of life sciences funding priorities, away from the biomedical bubble.”
Aug 16, 2018 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Major reboot and expansion. This is now a much more comprehensive review of possible causes of pain. There’s more to do and suggestions and requests for additions are very welcome. I hope this will become one of the most useful articles on PainScience.com.
Aug 16, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Analysis of more putative “mechanisms of inaction” as presented in three more papers, one ancient, two new (Melzack, Chou, Cagnie).
Aug 14, 2018 — Sports Injury Prevention Tips — Substantive science update, added a bunch about load management based on Soligard. Also merged another article about injury prevention into this one: “Collateral and Re-Injury Prevention” is now a major second part of this article.
Aug 9, 2018 — A Historical Perspective On Aches ‘n’ Pains — Revised to properly answer a reader question: “Why is there such ignorance in musculoskeletal medicine?” It was good cynical fun trying to explain.
Aug 8, 2018 — Stuck in My Throat — Probably the final status updates to the article. I’ve received several inquiries lately from people wanting to know how am doing with the globus these days. That question is now answered in the final section.
Aug 3, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Complete book edit — Top-to-bottom edit of the book, the first ever. Described in more detail in a blog post.
Aug 2, 2018 — Does Posture Matter? — Revision — Widespread editing related to the distinction between poor postural and postural challenge or stress. The section dedicated to that difference was completely re-written, but many other changes were made, mostly to the first few sections where I define my terms. I’ve also corrected the systematic misuse of the term “strain” when I meant “stress” (a technical but important distinction).
Aug 1, 2018 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update — Added a key citation Lewis et al and elaborated a little on my recommendations.
Aug 1, 2018 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update — Beefed up the description of the alternative to structuralism, and added a new citation and a few old ones.
Aug 1, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Added the revelation that literally all of the very weak studies supporting DCF training are probably fraudulent.
Jul 28, 2018 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Added a small section about the safety of long-term regular use.
Jul 27, 2018 — The Not-So-Humble Healer — Added new appendix: “Exhibit B: ‘I’M PURE SCIENCE’”
Jul 25, 2018 — The Unstretchables — Significant revision of the introduction: the article now gets to the main point way faster, and a bunch of peripheral controversies about stretching are now left out, so they don’t freak readers out so muchshow that they stop reading before getting to the main point. I have other articles for that.
Jul 25, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — A new standard chapter for most PainScience.com tutorials summarizing several key concepts about placebo.
Jul 25, 2018 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — A new standard chapter for most PainScience.com tutorials summarizing several key concepts about placebo.
Jul 25, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section — A new standard chapter for most PainScience.com tutorials summarizing several key concepts about placebo.
Jul 25, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — A new standard chapter for most PainScience.com tutorials summarizing several key concepts about placebo.
Jul 25, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section — A new standard chapter for most PainScience.com tutorials summarizing several key concepts about placebo.
Jul 25, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — A new standard chapter for most PainScience.com tutorials summarizing several key concepts about placebo.
Jul 25, 2018 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — A new standard chapter for most PainScience.com tutorials summarizing several key concepts about placebo.
Jul 19, 2018 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — New section: “Another way of categorizing pain: visceral and somatic.”
Jul 19, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update, dry needling section — Added analysis of Couto, one of the more credible positive trials of dry needling available.
Jul 18, 2018 — Massage Therapy Side Effects — New section: “Impaired performance: the minor but educational example of pre-event sports massage.” Added and discussed “distraction from more appropriate care” to the introductory section. Updated the conclusion so it’s in sync with changes made in the last couple years.
Jul 14, 2018 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Major revision to the inflammation discussion, based on new evidence that RSIs may be inflamed after all — just not a classic, acute immune response. This isn’t really a shock, but it sure is interesting, and many changes had to be made to accommodate just a single key new citation (Dakin). This is why my work will never be done!
Jul 13, 2018 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — New section: “A key deep thought: nociception isn’t pain, and there are no ‘pain nerves,’ but muscles can still be sore.”
Jul 13, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Important update — Added an important new sub-section about anticonvulsants.
Jul 7, 2018 — Studying the Studies — Added tip about asking scientific paper authors for free full-text.
Jun 30, 2018 — Insomnia Until it Hurts — Added citation to Stubbs, a huge new study of poorer populations showing a strong link to between insomnia and pain.
Jun 29, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section, “Training the deep cervical flexors” —
Jun 28, 2018 — Massage Therapy Side Effects — Added article summary, and made numerous other miscellaneous improvements.
Jun 26, 2018 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — New section inspired by Comerci et al: “It’s getting harder to find doctors that will help with getting off opioids.”
Jun 20, 2018 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Revised and clarified medical causes of anxiety, plus several other minor edits.
Jun 20, 2018 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update — A small but good update giving some good scientific support to the rationale for reducing tibialis anterior loading. That was already recommended, but it’s on firmer foundations now.
Jun 20, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New sub-topic, strengthening section — Answered a frequently asked question much more thoroughly: Does using arch support make your arches weaker?
Jun 20, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Addition, differential diagnosis section — Added L5/S1 radiculopathy.
Jun 19, 2018 — Studying the Studies — Started a new section: “It’s a trap! Things to watch out for.” Just a couple items to start.
Jun 19, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major science update, obesity section — New key new citations and thorough analysis.
Jun 15, 2018 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — Big update today: added thorough discussion of the problem of predatory journals. Added three new bogus citation types: the non-cite, the junk cite, and the dump cite. Added a short section about citations to NASA studies.
Jun 15, 2018 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — Added some minor but interesting new points and citations about IT band anatomy.
Jun 14, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Revised, ergonomics section — Substantial miscellaneous modernization. In particular, much more useful information on the critical distinction between “poor posture” and “postural stress.”
Jun 13, 2018 — Massage Therapy for Neck Pain, Chest Pain, Arm Pain, and Upper Back Pain — New small section, “The cult of scalenes.” Is the clinical importance of scalenes exaggerated?
Jun 13, 2018 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — New section, “A fine example of acupuncture research that seems well-designed and positive … but is still bizarrely flawed.”
Jun 12, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Upgraded — Added much more detail about the basics of neuropathy and revised everything else quite thoroughly. Expanded the discussion of implications of Jayson as promised last month.
Jun 9, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Revised — The Quick Reference Guide hadn’t been updated for a loooong time, and I finally got to it. It could still use more modernization and careful synchronization with book content, but it is greatly improved. (Fun fact: this update also eliminated some of the final traces of branding for the old SaveYourself.ca domain name, three-and-a-half years after it was retired.)
Jun 5, 2018 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section, symptoms — Although this book goes into great detail about diagnosis, strangely it was missing a simple thorough list of symptoms. A reader brought this to my attention, and I’ve corrected it. It’s a strange loose end to be tying up more than a decade into the project, but there you have it.
Jun 1, 2018 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Important new section: “Addiction versus dependence.”
Jun 1, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added several references about the long term risks of joint popping, a paragraph about the short-term risks, and a citation about what causes joint popping.
Jun 1, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Revision, spinal manipulation section — Clarified the important distinction between hazard and risk.
May 23, 2018 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — New section about “That troublesome 2018 study that declared victory for massage therapy” (Dupuy et al).
May 18, 2018 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — New section, “Can strength training prevent overuse injuries?”
May 16, 2018 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Covered the fresh PLoS ONE scandal over “one of the worst acupuncture studies I have ever seen.”
May 15, 2018 — Massage Therapy Side Effects — Added discussion of dizziness, vertigo, and Meniere’s disease.
May 12, 2018 — Microbreaking — Added a microbreaking reminder method.
May 12, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section — More information about dry needling in its own chapter now, a neglected sub-topic; it has always been covered in the companion book about trigger points, but a good summary here in the neck pain book is long overdue.
May 11, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update, dry needling section — A new sub-section about Llamas-Ramos et al, a study by dry needling proponents with surprisingly negative results (even if they didn’t see it that way). Plus a bunch of miscellaneous minor improvements.
May 7, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Elaboration — Added more detailed and evidence-based exercise recommendations.
May 3, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update, radiculopathy section — A science update … with quarter century old science about blood supply and radiculopathy (see Jayson). This is just a quick drop-in for now, but it’s fascinating, so I’ll be elaborating more in another update.
May 1, 2018 — Eccentric Contraction — Two new sections, about titin and isometric contractions, and numerous other minor improvements.
May 1, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Revision, microbreaking section — Substantial improvements, harmonizing with the ergonomics revision. Much stronger focus on the scientific case for microbreaking despite the lack of evidence that stagnacy is a problem in the first place. Added a practical tip, and a comic.
Apr 27, 2018 — Does Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection Work? — Science update, added new meta-analysis of PRP for muscle strain, Grassi et al.
Apr 27, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update, platelet-rich plasma section — Added a highly relevant citation to Grassi et al.
Apr 26, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Added new stretch, arch stretchg section — A reader suggested yoga’s ‘broken toe pose.’
Apr 26, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, about Oolo-Austin Trigenics® Procedure (OAT) —
Apr 24, 2018 — Does Hip Strengthening Work for IT Band Syndrome? — Additional improvements following the February reboot of this excerpt, tying up some loose ends, adding some colour and detail.
Apr 24, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, about back mice (lipomas) —
Apr 23, 2018 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Improvements, hip strengthening section — Basically a continuation of the February reboot of this chapter, tying up some loose ends, adding some colour and detail.
Apr 21, 2018 — Diagnosing Runner’s Knee — Added a short section about causes, continuing to work on making the page more of a useful on-stop resource.
Apr 17, 2018 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Added two citations to the introduction to keep things fresh, and a good quote to the conclusion.
Apr 17, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Improvements, dry needling section — Significantly expanded discussion of the rationale for needling with an interesting example and a helpful image.
Apr 12, 2018 — Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — Added results of a poll on how stiff people with hypermobility syndromes feel. Noted an exception to the rule that stiffness is uncomfortable. Added a brief, broad explanation of why stiffness correlates so poorly with ROM. Elaborated on examples of pathological causes of dystonia and put them in lists. Added a new example, facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Many other minor additions and edits for clarity.
Apr 5, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Upgrade — Added much more detail about the crisis in orthopedic surgeries — very important context — and more detail to the descriptions of surgical options.
Mar 12, 2018 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Cited Premkumar et al on red flag reliability (which ain’t great).
Mar 11, 2018 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Science update. Added several citations substantiating what was previously presented only as a rational opinion: topical NSAIDs are a lot safer than oral NSAIDs.
Mar 8, 2018 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Science update: updated rebooted referencing of studies comparing opioids to over-the-counter pain killers, most notably with Krebs et al.
Mar 7, 2018 — Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — Miscellaneous additions and improvements about inflammatory diseases, myotonia, dystonia induced by tranquilizer withdrawal, contracture, and frozen shoulder.
Mar 5, 2018 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added sidebar debunking the over-hyped idea that “stress is your friend,” which came from a wildly popular TED talk.
Mar 3, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Clarification — Added more thorough explanation of guidelines for “total” and “profound” rest.
Mar 3, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section, the role of weight — Long overdue discussion of a minor sub-topic!
Mar 2, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major revision, introduction to care options — Phase 1 of a reboot of this part of the book. Today I’ve added much more detail to the intro, emphasizing good and bad reasons for seeking help.
Mar 1, 2018 — Does Ultrasound Therapy Work? — A couple minor science updates on shockwave therapy (one good news, one bad).
Mar 1, 2018 — Deep Friction Massage Therapy for Tendinitis — Two new sections exploring theoretical arguments against frictions.
Feb 28, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Cleanup, preventing re-injury — No new science, but a bunch of clarifications and editorial improvements. It’s a clearer and more useful section.
Feb 28, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New tips, healing time section — Added two evidence-based tips to help estimate how long a strain takes to heal.
Feb 27, 2018 — Does Hip Strengthening Work for IT Band Syndrome? — Completely rebooted. This article is now a near-verbatim excerpt from the IT band syndrome book.
Feb 26, 2018 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major science update, hip strengthening chapter — After a long delay, I finally came back to the topic of hip weakness and just started over, reviewing the evidence from scratch. No change to the bottom line, but now more persuasive, thorough, and fully up-to-date.
Feb 23, 2018 — Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — New section about dystonia-powered stiffness, plus numerous other clarifications and improvements.
Feb 22, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Major improvements — Extensive new material about the relationship between neuropathy and neck pain, focused on clues that neuropathy is a factor in a case of chronic neck pain.
Feb 20, 2018 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Science update, based on Carpenter et al on the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy: “more effective treatments needed.”
Feb 20, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Improvements, dry needling section — Miscellaneous clarifications and elaborations, especially about schools of thought and mechanisms of effect. How does dry needling supposedly work? It’s hard for proponents to answer that question directly.
Feb 19, 2018 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added a bit more detail on anti-inflammatory foods and dieting.
Feb 16, 2018 — Pain Relief from Personal Growth — New section: “Practical example #2: ditching toxic relationships.” Inspired by Wilson et al (spousal empathy, sympathy have an impact on chronic pain).
Feb 16, 2018 — Many Pages — I just turned on an interesting speed boost tech for PainScience.com: CloudFlare’s “Argo Smart Routing,” which is kind of like Waze for internet traffic: it finds the quickest route for the data delivery. This may actually make a significant difference for many of my international visitors.
Feb 14, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor improvement — Added a footnote about the long-term risks of poor neck posture and text neck.
Feb 11, 2018 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Science update, cited Luedtke et al on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).
Feb 11, 2018 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section, on leg length differences —
Feb 10, 2018 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — More information about other drugs with painful side effects.
Feb 10, 2018 — Quite a Stretch — Minor addition — “Endorphins” now have a sidebar.
Feb 10, 2018 — Quite a Stretch — Expanded — Added more the nature of soreness and stiffness, and the relevance of stretching (or lack thereof).
Feb 9, 2018 — Diagnosing Runner’s Knee — Added more basic information about ITBS and PFPS to the introduction, hopefully boosting the usefulness of the page.
Feb 6, 2018 — Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — Still more revision and re-organizing, with a number of helpful elaborations.
Feb 6, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Re-write — I threw 90% of this section away and started over with a much stronger focus on the interesting question of whether or not “cervicogenic headache” is even a thing. It’s a like-new section, now with much more useful diagnostic clues.
Feb 2, 2018 — Sports Injury Prevention Tips — New tip, “Train in the Goldilocks Zone,” based on Drew. Several other improvements.
Jan 31, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Miscellaneous improvements, nerve vulnerability section — Added much more information about endangerment sites, discussion of the potential relevance of neuritis, extensive clarifications and editing, and some footnotes.
Jan 29, 2018 — The Insomnia Guide — Added point and citations about the effect of sleep deprivation on athletic performance and injury rates.
Jan 29, 2018 — Insomnia Until it Hurts — Added point and citations about the effect of sleep deprivation on athletic performance and injury rates.
Jan 27, 2018 — You’re Really Tight — Substantial revision. This article hadn’t been touched in a long time and it struck me as too simplistic and glib. It needs more work, but it’s a lot better today than it was yesterday.
Jan 25, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, ultrasound — Very “negative”: there’s almost no hope that it works.
Jan 25, 2018 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — A couple new citations and details about steroid injections.
Jan 22, 2018 — Tennis Elbow Guide — Update on isometric contraction for pain control, citing Coombes et al.
Jan 21, 2018 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Added a substantive point to the arguments against running on hard surfaces, about the effect of surface springiness. Also, a nice citation about low rates of arthritis in marathoners (see Ponzio 2018.
Jan 20, 2018 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major new section — Well, new to the book anyway. It has been available as a free article for quite a while, and it will remain so indefinitely. Although this content is not exclusive to the book, it definitely does belong here.
Jan 19, 2018 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Rewrote the introduction to fine tune the definition of sciatica, and the diagnosis section based on a fascinating study, Konstantinou et al. Although there’s no major changes of position in this update, it is quite substantive: the article is definitely better for it.
Jan 17, 2018 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Added citation to Stenger et al on pneumothorax risk.
Jan 16, 2018 — Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — Thorough editing, numerous clarifications, some pruning and re-organizing. The article now focusses much more strongly on causes of the symptom of stiffness.
Jan 16, 2018 — Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — Science update: cited Nolan et al on beliefs of physical therapists about lifting technique.
Jan 16, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added a few new citations about the efficacy of needling. Made some improvements to the information on risks added last month.
Jan 15, 2018 — Mind Over Pain — Science update — Cited Ruiz-Aranda, an experiment that showed that emotional coping skills improve pain tolerance.
Jan 14, 2018 — Water Fever and the Fear of Chronic Dehydration — Cited Vreeman on possible origins of the 8×8 rule.
Jan 13, 2018 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Added sidebar, “What’s normal heel raise endurance?” based on Lunsford et al.
Jan 12, 2018 — Mobilize! — Science update, cited Kim on the effect of early mobilization on recovery from surgical repair of shoulder trauma.
Jan 10, 2018 — Does Fascia Matter? — New sub-topic — Added information about gentle and subtle forms of fascial therapy.
Jan 9, 2018 — Many Pages — Several significant improvements to bookmarking (for customers only). Dozens of hours of programming over many weeks to make it all happen … 30 seconds to announce it!
Jan 8, 2018 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor science update — Added some references about the reliability of subluxation diagnosis.
Jan 5, 2018 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Very short new section about the modest potential of fish oil to help with DOMS.
Jan 2, 2018 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Minor new section: “TENS compared to nerve conduction testing.” Also added a citation to Vance.
Dec 23, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section —
Dec 20, 2017 — Pseudo-Quackery in the Treatment of Pain — Cited Grant et al on the gradual improvements in the evidence-based for sports medicine.
Dec 20, 2017 — A Historical Perspective On Aches ‘n’ Pains — Cited Grant et al and Ramos et al on the state of evidence-based sports medicine.
Dec 18, 2017 — Placebo Power Hype — Science update: cited Locher et al, a major blow to claims that open-label (non-deceptive) placebos work.
Dec 16, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added more and better information about risks of dry needling.
Dec 13, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Cited Chumbley et al on traction for neck pain in … fighter jet pilots!
Dec 12, 2017 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section: “Does stress wreck us?”
Dec 11, 2017 — Pain is Weird — Science update — Cited Höfle et al on the effect of context on how much needles hurt, and Nilakantan et al on romantic analgesia.
Dec 11, 2017 — Pain is Weird — Science update — Cited Parr et al on the effect of the fear of pain on post-exercise muscle soreness.
Dec 11, 2017 — Mind Over Pain — Science update — Cited Höfle et al on the effect of context on how much needles hurt, and Nilakantan et al on romantic analgesia.
Dec 11, 2017 — Mind Over Pain — Science update — Cited Parr et al on the effect of the fear of pain on post-exercise muscle soreness.
Dec 10, 2017 — Quite a Stretch — Science update — Cited Blazevich et al on tolerance of calf stretching.
Dec 10, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section —
Dec 10, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section —
Dec 9, 2017 — (Almost) Never Use Ice on Low Back Pain! — Edited. Just boring maintenance, but quite thorough, and necessary after the rewrite a few weeks ago.
Dec 9, 2017 — The Trouble with Chairs — Science update, cited Stamatakis et al, showing no clear link between sitting and diabetes.
Dec 8, 2017 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New section — A short new section summing up the absorption topic, citing Gröber et al.
Dec 8, 2017 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section, biomechanical overload syndrome —
Dec 7, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Change of position, on diagnostic nerve blocks — After reviewing the same scientific papers previously cited more carefully, I decided that they were much less promising than I originally thought. The section has flip-flopped from optimism to pessimism about nerve blocks without a single change in what’s actually cited, just a change in the level of diligence in interpreting the science. I’ve also added more detail and references.
Dec 7, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, needles for back pain —
Dec 7, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major upgrade, diagnostic nerve blocks — The section has been re-written and expanded significantly, with a key change in position. After reviewing the same scientific papers previously cited more carefully, I decided that they were much less promising than I originally thought. The section has flip-flopped from optimism to pessimism about nerve blocks without a single change in what’s actually cited, just a change in the level of diligence in interpreting the science.
Dec 6, 2017 — The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — Science update: cited Hickey et al, a paper about shoulder dyskinesia with a unusually misleading title.
Dec 4, 2017 — Does Ultrasound Therapy Work? — Science update, cited Schandelmaier et al, an excellent (and completely negative) British Journal of Medicine review of LIPUS for acute fracture/osteotomy healing.
Dec 4, 2017 — Healing Time — Science update, cited Schandelmaier et al, an excellent (and completely negative) British Journal of Medicine review of LIPUS for acute fracture/osteotomy healing.
Dec 4, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Cited and discussed Schandelmaier et al on low intensity pulse ultrasound for fracture/osteotomy healing.
Dec 2, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — Upgraded — Added information on the nature of and main claims made by several branded methods of fascial release.
Dec 2, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update, stretching section — Brought some more science to this discussion, especially Sandler et al on a link between stretching and back pain, and Tunwattanapong et al with modestly good news. Plus a bunch of editing.
Dec 1, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improved — Beefed up information on over-the-counter medications.
Nov 30, 2017 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update, stretching section — Cited and discussed the implications of Eng 2015, which purports to show that the IT band uses elastic energy to enhance running efficiency.
Nov 29, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Science update — Added minor citation to Cook et al on the neural consequences of exercise in CFS/ME patients.
Nov 29, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Science update — Added minor citations to Light et al on heritability of fibromyalgia.
Nov 29, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update, surgery section — Cited Siemieniuk — the British Medical Journal strongly denouncing the common athroscopic surgeries.
Nov 28, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update, nature of the beast — Cited and briefly discussed Riel et al’s 2017 suggestion that “plantar fasciitis” is a misleading name.
Nov 24, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section, Hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome —
Nov 23, 2017 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update, evidence review section — Cited Wallace et al: knee osteoarthritis prevalence doubled in the 20th Century independent of age and weight.
Nov 23, 2017 — Quite a Stretch — New section — Discussion of four ways that stretching may cause harm, especially for medically vulnerable people.
Nov 23, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — New summaries — Added two new summaries of recently added sections.
Nov 23, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — Edited, “release” section — A new introduction, clarified definition, and miscellaneous other minor improvements.
Nov 21, 2017 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New section — Really fun new section based on Chandrasekaran et al. I laughed out loud repeatedly writing this one. Because what’s funnier than harvested human skin, amiright?
Nov 18, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Expanded — Added some substance, mainly citing and discussing Ramos et al on the lack of evidence for common treatments. It’s still a short introduction to the second half to the book , but not as absurdly brief as it was.
Nov 18, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Improvements — Added more information about swelling and muscle deformation.
Nov 16, 2017 — 💩 Massage Therapists Say — Added a new load of shit, and started integrating examples from both Alice and Paul. If you’ve been here before, the new items are at the bottom, starting here.
Nov 16, 2017 — The Art of Bioenergetic Breathing — This is one of the oldest articles on PainScience.com, dating back to the early 2000s when I had quite different values and beliefs, long before I considered myself a “science journalist.” Today I gave it a thorough editing, so that the ideas and advice given are consistent with my publishing style and goals, and I wouldn’t be too embarrassed if, say, mentors in critical analysis were to read it. But that’s probably the last significant edit this will ever get — the topic is not a focus for me today, and the page is archived.
Nov 14, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section, about the origins and types of fascial therapy —
Nov 12, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added a substantive footnote explaining the relationship between ulcers, stress, and H. pylori infection as one of the best examples of a “stress-sensitive condition.”
Nov 12, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added a substantive footnote explaining the relationship between ulcers, stress, and H. pylori infection as one of the best examples of a “stress-sensitive condition.”
Nov 11, 2017 — Trigger Point Doubts — More perspective (and citations) added to the discussion of the state of the evidence about trigger point treatment.
Nov 10, 2017 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Added a mobile-only article summary.
Nov 10, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Upgraded, discussion of massage and nerve trauma — Added much more information about massage “endangerment sites,” discussion of the potential relevance of neuritis, extensive clarifications and editing.
Nov 9, 2017 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Rewritten, trigger point section — I’ve changed my position from positive to unknown, “more study needed,” based on a thorough update and review of the science. I updated the evidence for massage for back pain at the same time, with similar results.
Nov 9, 2017 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Rewritten, back pain section — I’ve changed my position from positive to unknown, “more study needed,” based on a thorough update and review of the science. I updated the evidence for trigger point massage at the same time, with similar results.
Nov 7, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Finally added some basic information about “text neck” — mostly that it’s not actually a thing, and a good example of bogus information about neck pain.
Nov 4, 2017 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section: “Consider quitting coffee.”
Nov 2, 2017 — Dupuytren’s Contracture — More detail and references about stretching. Miscellaneous editing.
Nov 2, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — An important follow-up on August’s major massage evidence update, I’ve now added a summary of the evidence for trigger point massage. Although the topic is not covered in detail here, much study went into making this summary possible.
Nov 1, 2017 — Massage Therapy for Low Back Pain (Again) — Miscellaneous improvements. Finally added a diagram!
Oct 31, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Full science review, massage efficacy section — Another huge update, though mostly “under the hood” — I have now completed a comprehensive informal review of all the available science, about 16 papers. The section now includes a large table of papers with links to all the summaries. Most readers are not going to want/need to click on all those links and read them all, but their availability is important.
Oct 28, 2017 — (Almost) Never Use Ice on Low Back Pain! — Rewritten. I came close to just tossing this article in the digital trash, but decided it could be saved by a rewrite fairly easily. In a rare move towards brevity, it is now much shorter! The role of trigger points have been demoted to a minor subtopic (they were previously the focus of the article). Sensitization and the “mind game” in low back pain are now the focus.
Oct 28, 2017 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New section — A new section based largely on the findings of Park et al.
Oct 27, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Science update — Added two key citations to Heffez 2004 and Heffez 2007 about the link between fibromyalgia and myelopathy: both fascinating, surprising, and important studies.
Oct 24, 2017 — Science versus Experience in Musculoskeletal Medicine — Merged in a couple older blog posts, added several references and footnotes, revised and re-framed et voila: this is now the official new “science versus experience” page for PainScience.com.
Oct 24, 2017 — The “Impress Me” Test — Added a couple citations and an important technical point about false positives when “testing magic.”
Oct 24, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Finally brought a little science to support the claim that trigger points complicate injury. More needed, but it’s a start.
Oct 24, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Revision, the role of trigger points in neck pain — This section was aging poorly. Reviewing it recently, it seemed too much like I was defensively explaining a pet theory (and I suppose I was). So I’ve done some thorough revision to bring it up to my current standards: less overconfidence, more science.
Oct 20, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section — Analysis of Chapelle and Bove’s 2013 study of visceral massage in rats, concluding that it’s mildly interesting massage science, but not fascia science specifically, let alone clinically relevant fascia science.
Oct 19, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — Added image — Added an image of a “ghost heart” (fascial scaffolding), a good example of fascial ubiquity and genuine fascia science.
Oct 18, 2017 — The Pressure Question in Massage Therapy — Added a new section: “Horror stories: what’s the worst case scenario from too much pressure?”
Oct 14, 2017 — 💩 Massage Therapists Say — Added extensive new annotations and a new featured image.
Oct 13, 2017 — How Many Muscles In the Human Body? — Added a cartoon.
Oct 9, 2017 — Deep Friction Massage Therapy for Tendinitis — Three small new sections added to the discussion of how frictions allegedly work: compressive tendinopathy, placebo, and diffuse noxious inhibitory control. I also now clearly state that I have described the rationale for frictions, not endorsed it. Added a recommendation not to pay for frictions. There is a skeptical theme to today’s updates. 😉
Oct 7, 2017 — Why Do We Get Sick? — Added brief discussion of the role of the mind in pain.
Oct 5, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited, strengthening as treatment section — Miscellaneous minor science updates; reduced confidence about the effect of trigger points on resistance training.
Oct 5, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Rewritten, weakness section — Totally revised discussion of the effect of trigger points on strength; in particular, my old opinions are now clearly labelled as speculation, rather than presented as fact.
Oct 4, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — Science update — Extensive revisions inspired by new evidence from new (unethical) experiments on pigs: Bishop 2016 and Langevin 2017.
Oct 2, 2017 — Quite a Stretch — Science update — Added preliminary discussion of evidence on the prevention of muscle strains. (More to come on this topic.)
Sep 26, 2017 — Deep Friction Massage Therapy for Tendinitis — Cited Chaves on the prevalence of friction massage and inconsistent technique; a few minor related edits.
Sep 25, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update, trigger point diagnostic reliability — A new citation, thorough discussion of Rathbone, and extensive related editing. The bottom line has been tweaked: I think the reliability evidence is encouragingly non-bad.
Sep 23, 2017 — Trigger Point Doubts — Science update — new citation for the diagnostic reliability question. I added a thorough discussion of Rathbone, and made tweaks to the bottom line:
Sep 23, 2017 — Is Diagnosis for Pain Problems Reliable? — New section: “Unreliable reliability science,” in which I dumb down reliability stats and their challenges.
Sep 22, 2017 — When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — New section: “Signs of arthritis are not red flags.”
Sep 22, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Upgraded, tool massage section — Added some more detailed safety advice and discussion of vibrating massage tools. Removed and de-emphasized a couple tools. Better images. Thorough editing the whole section.
Sep 20, 2017 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Added bonus tip — Muscle clenching has been shown to reduce pain sensitivity (Smith et al) — a good additional reason to challenge muscles.
Sep 20, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New tip — Added a weird bonus strengthening tip based on Smith et al, which showed that clenching leg muscles reduced pain everywhere in patients with chronic neck pain.
Sep 18, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor update — Added another good example of “fascia babbling.”
Sep 17, 2017 — Many Pages — Sitewide accessibility upgrade: all 600+ pull quotes on PainScience.com are now hidden from screen readers (using the “aria-hidden” attribute), and also when Javascript/CSS is disabled. This has been a minor annoyance to me and a small but important minority of readers for many years, and I’m delighted to have finally gotten around to fixing it.
Sep 16, 2017 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Science update — Cited another new review (Nugent), more focused on pain, that tempered my enthusiasm a bit. The tip stands, but not as tall.
Sep 13, 2017 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Science udpate — Cited evidence that statin myalgia could be bogus, not actually a real problem.
Sep 13, 2017 — The Trouble with Chairs — Major upgrade to my debunking of “sitting is the new smoking,” based on a beefier “paralysis perspective,” and on new evidence from Diaz.
Sep 13, 2017 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section: “Fighting, flighting, tending, and befriending.” And significant revision of another: “Anxiety has a biological signature (and it’s sneaky).”
Sep 12, 2017 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update — Cited evidence that leg length differences cannot be reliably diagnosed.
Sep 12, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update. — Cited and discussed evidence that statin myalgia could be a nocebo—that is, not actually a real problem.
Sep 6, 2017 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — Added a brief acknowledgement of my own fallibility in the citation department.
Sep 5, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science upgrade — More evidence on how much (or little) pain is caused by cervical disc herniations, plus other miscellaneous citations and clarifications. Removed the claim that herniations actually decrease with age — the reference for that was no longer persuasive.
Sep 1, 2017 — (Almost) Never Use Ice on Low Back Pain! — Editing and modernization, mainly modernizing my explanation for the role of trigger points in back pain.
Aug 30, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major upgrade — Extensive new analysis of the scientific evidence of efficacy for massaging trigger points (mostly inconclusive). But I provide much more detail now, fully reviewing several noteworthy studies, and there’s more to come. The section has roughly quadrupled in length.
Aug 19, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major update — Rewritten and updated. I revisited all the evidence on massage for back pain, especially integrating Furlan et al (a major 2015 meta-analysis on this topic). The bottom line is now that the science is inconclusive and discouraging instead of optimistic. Sorry, everyone.
Aug 17, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New sub-topic — Added discussion of PACE and graded exercise therapy to the exercise section.
Aug 17, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New sub-topic — Added repressed emotions.
Aug 17, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section, The fatigue connection, CFS vs ME —
Aug 17, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section — A review of other kinds of problems with the plantar fascia and how some might be related to and confused with plantar fasciitis.
Aug 16, 2017 — Tissue Provocation Therapies — Added a great visual example of Woolf’s law at work on the arm bones of tennis players (Haapasalo).
Aug 15, 2017 — Vitamin D for Pain — Significant removal of obsolete content, plus revision and updating of dosing and safety information.
Aug 14, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Revision — Added an example of SMT injury and a footnote about fearmongering, and then found myself editing the whole section.
Aug 10, 2017 — Strength Training Frequency — Science update based a nice bit of good news about weight lifting reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome (Bakker et al).
Aug 10, 2017 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Science update based a nice bit of good news about weight lifting reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome (Bakker et al).
Aug 10, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — An odd new section about trigger points in animals, with some interesting tangents and perspective.
Aug 10, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, posture —
Aug 3, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Major science update, arch stretching — The section now takes a much more detailed look at the only relevant science.
Aug 3, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update, night splints — Night splints now have their own section, along with some more detail and science updates.
Aug 3, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Rewrite, calf stretching section — Complete citation reboot and much more thorough critical analysis of calf stretching science.
Aug 3, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Rewrite, stretching intro — Complete revision of the introduction to stretching.
Aug 1, 2017 — The Unstretchables — Science update — added citations relevant to IT band stretching.
Aug 1, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section, Stress and fibromyalgia. —
Aug 1, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New sub-topic — Added adrenal fatigue.
Aug 1, 2017 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — New sections dedicated to inflammation and the effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories on healing. Elaborated on the bizarre findings of Deyhle et al and integrated evidence from a major new review (Morelli et al). Some re-organization of the article for clarity.
Aug 1, 2017 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Major science update about a series of Japanese rat studies that suggest DOMS is basically “neurological growing pains,” summarized by Mizumura et al It’s a fascinating potential solution to the DOMS mystery.
Jul 31, 2017 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update, stretching section — Added important discussion of the implications of Willett et al.
Jul 31, 2017 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Upgraded, tightness discussion — Made a few changes and added a few new paragraphs exploring the implications of Willett et al.
Jul 29, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Science update: changed the description of the nature of chronic exertional compartment syndrome based on Franklyn-Miller et al (because it may be mis-named), and added a citation to Lenhart et al regarding the function of the gluteus medius and minimus.
Jul 28, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Widespread minor improvements to complete the integration of central sensitization into the book. The neck pain book is now fully sensitive about sensitization!
Jul 26, 2017 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a small but important public service announcement about supplement contamination, based on Rao et al.
Jul 26, 2017 — Homeopathy Schmomeopathy — Added reference about contamination of homeopathic products.
Jul 26, 2017 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Added reference about contamination of homeopathic products.
Jul 21, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Improved — Improvements to the discussion of cervical myodural bridges.
Jul 20, 2017 — Massage Therapy for Tension Headaches — Added new section, “Do you have a trigger point under your skull? Or is that just a cervical myodural bridge?” Added more detail about stretching. Plus several other minor improvements.
Jul 20, 2017 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Added citation to Vickers et al, with skeptical analysis.
Jul 15, 2017 — Quite a Stretch — Science update, muscle pain section — Cited and discussed implications of anti-inflammatory effect reported by Berrueta et al.
Jul 15, 2017 — Quite a Stretch — Revised, preventing soreness section — A heavy edit for clarity and brevity.
Jul 12, 2017 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — New section — “Appendix: Neuropathic versus nociceptive pain.”
Jul 12, 2017 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — Added two citations substantiating the prevalance of predatory/fraudulent journals.
Jul 11, 2017 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added discussion of tetany. Expanded on personal experience with fasciculations. Several clarifications and minor corrections.
Jul 6, 2017 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Cited new evidence on the limited benefits of steroid injections for rotator cuff tendinopathy (Mohamadi) — an interesting contrast with the effects of steroids on frozen shoulder. Also cited new evidence that shoulder decompression does not work for supraspinatus tendinopathy (Ketola et al)—a really great example of the problem with looking at RSIs mechanistically.
Jul 6, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Cited new evidence on the limited benefits of steroid injections for rotator cuff tendinopathy (Mohamadi) — an interesting contrast with the effects of steroids on frozen shoulder.
Jul 1, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added brief discussion of an interesting theory about the effect of stretching on inflammation in connective tissue.
Jun 29, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — New section: “Impact reduction take-home points.”
Jun 28, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor addition, introduction — Added an excellent recent example of awful back pain information.
Jun 28, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section — Important revisions and a new section based on important new evidence (Wong et al) that frozen shoulder is not a self-limiting condition as everyone has assumed for decades.
Jun 24, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section —
Jun 22, 2017 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a citation about the effect of caffeine on performance.
Jun 20, 2017 — Pseudo-Quackery in the Treatment of Pain — Added citations to and quotes from Zusman 2011.
Jun 20, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Integrated discussion of central sensitization, reframing the “confidence cure” as treatment for central sensitization.
Jun 17, 2017 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added an sidebar about the absence of anxiety in aphasia patients — not useful, but fascinating.
Jun 16, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update, trigger points intro — Light editing, plus a new paragraph and citation to Morikawa et al, an odd little study showing that neck massage is relaxing, or possibly more.
Jun 15, 2017 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added interesting citation to Hussain et al, showing evidence of the metabolic/inflammatory roots of back pain.
Jun 9, 2017 — The Dubious Science of Kinesiology Tape — Added footnote about a class action lawsuit of taping claims.
Jun 9, 2017 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added interesting citation to Bäckryd et al, the first evidence of extensive inflammation in fibromyalgia patients.
Jun 9, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New sub-topic — Inflammation as a driver of sensitization, based on new evidence of an “extensive inflammatory profile” in fibromyalgia patients (Bäckryd).
Jun 8, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — A much more thorough discussion of vibrating massage tools.
Jun 5, 2017 — Tissue Provocation Therapies — An especially neat science update about changes in intervertebral discs in runners (Belavý).
Jun 5, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — New section on intervertebral disc adaptation to running as indirect evidence that running on pavement may be risky, based on Belavý et al.
Jun 3, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Edited, medications section — Several minor miscellaneous clarifications and elaborations, and some additional references.
May 31, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Added a footnote about the importance of psychological factors in rehab (such as not being scared of the surface you run on). Added beefy footnotes about springing and muscle tuning: two biomechanical shock absorption tactics in human biology.
May 29, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Clarification, breathing section — Made it much clearer that changes in blood acidity with respiratory alkalosis are minor and transient. Miscellaneous minor edits.
May 28, 2017 — The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — Added a couple quotes, citations to two new reviews, and some clarifications about the role of SFMA versus FMS.
May 26, 2017 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update, evidence review section — Quoted and cited Tumminello et al on “the corrective exercise trap,” a topic closely related to structuralism.
May 25, 2017 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Added a mostly amusing footnote about natural sleeping postures or “paleo sleeping” (but worthwhile for perspective).
May 25, 2017 — Many Pages — Cited recent BMJ meta-analysis of NSAIDs and heart attack risk (Bally et al) in many places around PainScience.com where pain-killers are summarized.
May 25, 2017 — Many Pages — Usability upgrade to the way footnotes and other popups (overlays) are displays: better on small screens, better large popups, and clearer close buttons.
May 21, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Revision — Clarifications about the value of treating inflammation in principle.
May 20, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update, steroid injections — Significant science upgrade based on McAlindon et al.
May 17, 2017 — The Power of Barking — Added a paragraph that, I hope, summed up a couple key effectively.
May 16, 2017 — Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — Many improvements; no important changes in position, just a bunch more detail and references. Clarified the scope of the article, and linked prominently to Greg Lehman’s more thorough and technical review of both sides of the spinal flexion debate. Added video of a strongman stone lift showing extreme stoop lifting. Added evidence that there’s surprisingly little difference in forces on the spine in stoop vs squat lifting. Added the idea that most good lifting technique is simple and intuitive and cannot be improved by teaching. Revised the powerlifting section in a way that I hope powerlifters will think is more acceptable, but doubled down on the most contentious point: I think the evidence is clear that it is impossible to avoid, and I added citations to shore that up.
May 15, 2017 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update, evidence review section — Cited evidence of poor correlation between hip pain and radiographic signs of arthritis (Kim et al).
May 15, 2017 — Massage Therapy for Bruxism, Jaw Clenching, and TMJ Syndrome — Added citation to Webb et al regarding massage efficacy.
May 15, 2017 — Massage Therapy for Back Pain, Hip Pain, and Sciatica — Science update — Cited evidence of poor correlation between hip pain and radiographic signs of arthritis (Kim et al).
May 15, 2017 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Science update, massage efficacy — Added citation to Webb et al, plus related edits.
May 15, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update, trigger point therapy — Added citation to Webb et al, plus related edits.
May 14, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section, Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for fibromyalgia. —
May 12, 2017 — Spinal Fracture Bracing — Added citation to Avilés about the similarity of outcomes from surgery versus conservative therapy for burst fractures.
May 12, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New section, Exercise for fibromyalgia, with some evidence-inspired tips. —
May 12, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
May 12, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improvements — Added more movement recommendations.
May 12, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
May 3, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Revised, section on nerve blocks etc. — Thoroughly revised section and, unfortunately, a reversal from optimism to pessimism about the efficacy of nerve blocks.
May 1, 2017 — Does Posture Matter? — Science update — Added citation to good evidence of embodied psychological changes caused by non-verbal expansiveness.
May 1, 2017 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Added a section about spring-loaded shoes (not as lame as it sounds).
May 1, 2017 — Does barefoot running prevent injuries? — Science update: upgraded a couple citations about the injury-preventing powers of shoes (or lack thereof).
Apr 29, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Rewrite — Like-new section with many new concepts, citations, and recommendations related to impact.
Apr 28, 2017 — When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — Added important red flag information about artery tears with pain as the only symptom.
Apr 28, 2017 — What Happened To My Barber? — Added information about artery tears with pain as the only symptom.
Apr 28, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Rewritten — Thorough revision with many updated citations, focusing mainly on orthotics efficacy.
Apr 28, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Expanded — Added important red flag information about artery tears with pain as the only symptom.
Apr 28, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Expanded — Added important red flag information about artery tears with pain as the only symptom.
Apr 27, 2017 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Added a section about orthotics and low back pain.
Apr 26, 2017 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Science update: cited Junior 2016 regarding the lack of link between running injuries and biomechanical asymmetries, and Richter 2011 on efficacy of orthotics for lower limb injuries.
Apr 25, 2017 — Does barefoot running prevent injuries? — Minor update: editing and clarification of the introduction; added a citation strengthening the case against barefoot running.
Apr 24, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added discussion of orthotics to treat leg length differences for back pain.
Apr 23, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — An important and interesting acknowledgement that mechanical causes of back pain do exist.
Apr 22, 2017 — Icing for Injuries, Tendinitis, and Inflammation — Rewrote “What ice is not for (back pain, usually)” for clarity and thoroughness.
Apr 22, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New subsection — Added content inspired by decades-old evidence of reduced spinal degeneration in “primitive” cultures where squatting is common. Some light editing of everything else in the chapter.
Apr 22, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added a small but key new point and citation about genetic factors in degeneration; and an important new citation about the disconnect between imaging results and pain.
Apr 22, 2017 — Many Pages — After years of using both “tendinitis” and “tendonitis” at random, I’ve finally implemented a firm editorial policy for this tricky term: all 560 usages on PainScience.com have been changed to the more correct one — tendinitis — and I’ve attached an explanatory footnote to the first usage in a couple dozen articles.
Apr 21, 2017 — Icing for Injuries, Tendinitis, and Inflammation — Upgraded rebuttal to the argument that icing impedes healing.
Apr 21, 2017 — The Trouble with Chairs — Added a significant footnote about the (unclear) relationship between habitual squatters and back pain.
Apr 19, 2017 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Like new — Rewrote discussion of shoes, surfaces, impact, etc. Several new references; recommendations haven’t changed much, but the explanation for them is greatly improved.
Apr 18, 2017 — Ice versus Heat for Pain and Injury — Added several clarifications and footnotes, especially about heating for muscle stiffness and pain.
Apr 16, 2017 — Organ Health Does Not Depend on Spinal Nerves! — Important update about autonomic dysregulation of organs after spinal trauma.
Apr 13, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Discussed important new review of SMT for acute low back pain. Significant revision of the section.
Apr 8, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Upgrade — Shoes now have a section to themselves (orthotics discussed separately), and I made several improvements at the same time, mostly about spring-based shoes as a generic concept.
Apr 8, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major upgrade — Much more detail and modernized references. The entire section is now dedicated to orthotics (and shoes have their own section, also upgraded).
Apr 7, 2017 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a footnote about the (lack) of evidence concerning the long term effects ogf caffeine on pain.
Mar 30, 2017 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Rewritten — Six years after the last re-write, another major renovation of the topic of hard-surface running and shock absorption: new ideas and advice spelled out and supported much more thoroughly.
Mar 28, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Added an analogy, an example, a useful link, and generally modernized the section.
Mar 24, 2017 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added a note about chronic dehydration; some speculation about why unwanted contraction is common but usually harmless; clarification of the spasm myth, and more about what does cause sharp back pains. Miscellaneous other changes.
Mar 22, 2017 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — New section: “Reassurances: twitching and tremors almost never indicate a serious problem.” Also added some more detail about my own strange example of myokymia..
Mar 21, 2017 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Added depth — Expanded on discussion of inhalation as a vector for salt magnesium absorption.
Mar 20, 2017 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Miscellaneous improvements to the section about special/technical running and walking shoes.
Mar 17, 2017 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Minor correction — Correction about the size of water molecules, and some clarification about how skin waterproofing works thanks to some interesting science.
Mar 15, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Revision — Modernization and expansion; added more information about surgical options in particular.
Mar 12, 2017 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — New section: “Disc herniations are much less of a problem than most people think.”
Mar 12, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Strong new reference to Andrade et al fully supports the main message of the section.
Mar 11, 2017 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added another important example of a possible medical cause of anxiety (positional cervical cord compression).
Mar 11, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Newer, better, evidence-based good news about disc herniation resorption.
Mar 9, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section — Tips and a checklist for trying to estimate how much your neck pain might be about sensitization.
Mar 9, 2017 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor upgrade — Added evidence from a new dissection study and edited the whole section for currency and clarity. Time flies: it’s been a long time since I last looked at this topic!
Mar 8, 2017 — Get in the Pool for Pain — Science updated. Added a couple key citations about the efficacy of aquatic therapy, and spelling out the case for it a bit more.
Mar 8, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Updated references for debunking of TENS for back pain. Added ultrasound to the section.
Mar 7, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Expanded — Added more and better descriptions of relevant medical specialities.
Mar 7, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — New sub-topics — Added small-fibre neuropathies and positional cervical cord compression.
Mar 4, 2017 — Does Ultrasound Therapy Work? — Added a brief acknowledgement of the surprisingly positive evidence for shockwave therapy for plantar fasciitis, plus a bunch of miscellaneous editing.
Mar 4, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section — In which I finally explore one of the most interesting findings in fascia science.
Mar 2, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Lots of new information about impact forces on different surfaces, mostly based on Fu et al. This is the sixth substantial update so far in 2017. Phew: what a rabbit hole!
Mar 1, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor improvement — Added a proper summary of Roffey et al, and a relevant personal footnote.
Feb 28, 2017 — Poisoned by Massage — Miscellaneous minor editing, and a new section, “No, PMSM is not caused by a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction.”
Feb 25, 2017 — Vitamin D for Pain — New section: “Does Vitamin D prevent colds/flu?” Not really, no, contrary to recent headlines.
Feb 24, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Correction — An evidence-based correction regarding computer display position.
Feb 23, 2017 — Massage Therapy Side Effects — Added emboli (blood clots stuck in vessels) with three case studies.
Feb 23, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Big upgrade — Continued to beef up the science of psychological risk factors, and also added much more about other kinds of risk factors. The section almost doubled in size.
Feb 23, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Two key new citations to support the idea that the state of muscle tissue is a big factor in neck pain.
Feb 22, 2017 — Digital Motion X-Ray — Added a couple key points based on references, both comparing DMX to MRI.
Feb 20, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — A paragraph about genetic vulnerability to persistent neuropathic pain.
Feb 19, 2017 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Several minor clarifications and a new footnote about peripheral sensitization.
Feb 18, 2017 — Does Fascia Matter? — Science update — Cited an unusually on-point study of fascial thickness and stiffness in patients with and without compartment syndrome.
Feb 18, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improved — Added some history, which is nice new context for this topic.
Feb 17, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Many miscellaneous improvements. I’ve now mostly completed the process of eliminating the assumption that pavement is risky from the old second half of the article.
Feb 16, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Improvements — Added an introduction (“everything causes everything”!), and items about B12 deficiency and celiac disease.
Feb 16, 2017 — 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — Added a paragraph about the existence and purpose of the junk journal industry.
Feb 11, 2017 — The Insomnia Guide — New section, “‘Get lots of exercise’ is not an insomnia treatment for everyone.”
Feb 11, 2017 — Insomnia Until it Hurts — Science update, added a citation about the relationship between sleep quality and metabolic syndrome (which has implications for chronic inflammation and pain).
Feb 11, 2017 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Science update, added a citation about the link between metabolic syndrome and sleep disturbance (as a proxy for stress).
Feb 9, 2017 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Exercise and surgery updates related to two valuable new citations, both from Fernandez et al. Improved the mobilizations section especially.
Feb 9, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section — Substantial new section about sensitization, an important perspective on chronic neck pain.
Feb 8, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Widened and deepened the discussion of the science of impact and injury. Added citations about stress fractures and grass versus concrete hardness.
Feb 8, 2017 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section: “Change your environment (a.k.a. get away from assholes).” Added a fascinating citation to the cognitive behavioural therapy section.
Feb 7, 2017 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Revision and upgrades to the link between stress and inflammation: more citations, more ideas, more clarity.
Feb 6, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Added detail — Added more detail about positional cervical cord compression.
Feb 4, 2017 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Substantially beefed up and modernized the introduction footnotes.
Feb 3, 2017 — Modality Empires — Added an excellent expert quote.
Feb 3, 2017 — Sports Injury Prevention Tips — Minor science update, a couple citation drop-ins for the introduction.
Feb 3, 2017 — Psoas, So What? — Added a citation that strongly emphasizes that psoas is not critical to core stability.
Feb 3, 2017 — The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — Science update based on the first systematic review of studies of the predictive validity of FMS.
Feb 3, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Addition — Added a profound and very cool example of abnormal anatomy that confounds diagnosis of hard lumps in tissue.
Feb 2, 2017 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Miscellaneous editing and minor improvements. Added new section “The myth of painful spasms.”
Feb 1, 2017 — Get in the Pool for Pain — Added a footnote with some tips about how to cope with getting chilly in pools.
Feb 1, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Solid little science update based on Nakashima et al, showing huge numbers of intervertebral disc bulges in healthy people.
Jan 31, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Polishing of the arguments for and against road running. Added much more information about the science of the relationship between injury and impact forces.
Jan 30, 2017 — Does Posture Matter? — Science update — Added a paragraph about the lack of association between a hunched upper back and shoulder or back pain, with a couple good citations.
Jan 28, 2017 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section — An important tip I should have written about long ago, finally added.
Jan 28, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Elaborated — Significantly beefed up discussion of other causes of headaches.
Jan 27, 2017 — Massage Therapy for Low Back Pain — Added a lot of substance to the anatomy and function section, supported by several new references.
Jan 26, 2017 — Vitamin D for Pain — Safety update. Sterner and more detailed warnings about the risks of tanning beds, and the dilemma they present to chronic pain patients.
Jan 26, 2017 — Placebo Power Hype — New section: “Are animals are immune to placebo? Of course not.”
Jan 26, 2017 — How Many Muscles In the Human Body? — Added a “fun fact” about the pupillary muscles.
Jan 26, 2017 — Do You Believe in Qi? — Added three new citations, minor editing.
Jan 26, 2017 — When To Worry About Shortness of Breath … and When Not To — Thorough editing of the introduction, upgraded sources, various minor corrections, and a new section about the qualities of dyspnea.
Jan 25, 2017 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Abridged — Made the summary more concise, now that there is a featured article for aquatic therapy.
Jan 25, 2017 — Ugly Bags of Mostly Water — Added a small paragraph about the therapeutic significance of our watery nature.
Jan 24, 2017 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a table of contents. A few minor edits.
Jan 24, 2017 — Wobble Cushions for the Chair Bound — Major revision. Modernized and simplified. In particular, I purged any hint that a wobble cushion can treat or prevent back pain.
Jan 23, 2017 — A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Substantive editing —
Jan 22, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Correction — Small but important correction about the value of opioids in severe cases that resemble fibromyalgia.
Jan 22, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor improvements — Clarified several points and added a link to a new PainScience.com article dedicated to fibromyalgia.
Jan 21, 2017 — Is Diagnosis for Pain Problems Reliable? — Science update: added a reference to Herzog et al’s remarkable MRI reliability results. The list of good examples unreliable diagnosis is now up to ten.
Jan 20, 2017 — When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — Several good red flag clarifications and a couple interesting new references about spinal cord compression. Also added three new sections: “Necks just hurt sometimes,” “Sharp, stabbing, and shooting neck pains are usually false alarms,” and “Is a stiff neck serious?” Miscellaneous editing.
Jan 20, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added discussion of a remarkable example of poor MRI reliability.
Jan 20, 2017 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section — A substantial and interesting reader-submitted case study plus a little commentary.
Jan 19, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — More introduction polish and much more thorough rebuttals the arguments against the riskiness of running on pavement.
Jan 19, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Upgraded — Several good red flag clarifications and a couple interesting new references about spinal cord compression.
Jan 14, 2017 — Vitamin D for Pain — Major udpate. Four new short practical sections about how to get more vitamin D: food sources, supplementation tips, sunshine versus supplementing, and all about tanning beds.
Jan 14, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major science update — I have reversed my position on vastus medialis isolation on the basis of new evidence.
Jan 13, 2017 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section — Marijuana finally makes it to the tips page! Overdue, but the evidence is good enough now.
Jan 13, 2017 — Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Major upgrade. Tripled the length of the article, an upgrade from a sketchy stub to a proper featured article, and now an official and worthy part of the PainScience.com library. Still plenty of sub-topics to come though!
Jan 12, 2017 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — A significant infusion of the science of cognitive behavioural therapy, with several related clarifications and elaborations.
Jan 12, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor addition — Added a fun example of mistaken lump identity, and clarified warnings about how easily this can happen.
Jan 11, 2017 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Another wave of revisions: the scientific uncertainties now permeate the whole intro; all the arguments against “running pavement is risky” are now much more thorough; title is now a question: “Is Running on Pavement Risky?”
Jan 11, 2017 — Poisoned by Massage — Added a sidebar about how many PMSM stories I’ve been receiving from readers.
Jan 11, 2017 — The Insomnia Guide — New section about delayed sleep phase syndrome.
Jan 10, 2017 — Tissue Provocation Therapies — Science update. Cited a new review of all relevant research so far (Cheatham et al). Also clarified the example of eccentric loading.
Jan 10, 2017 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — Cited a useful new review of studies of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) — scraping massage — plus some general cleanup and clarifications about IASTM.
Jan 9, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor maintenance — Some modernization, cleanup, and especially another “symptom checker” option.
Jan 9, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Arcane but neat “bonus elaboration on the thalamic-convergence theory.”
Jan 6, 2017 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Threw out the stale, simple old section about posture and ergonomics and wrote a completely new one.
Jan 6, 2017 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — Added an important point to the definition of neuropathy: it tends to be more chronic.
Jan 6, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update — Added a very interesting good-news reference that actually provides some decent support for massaging strains.
Jan 6, 2017 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor addition — Added peroneus longus to the list of muscles to massage, because of evidence that it contributes to IT band tension.
Jan 6, 2017 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New topic — A much more encouraging new conclusion to this section, endorsing simple massage for a simple reason.
Jan 5, 2017 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Removal — Got rid of advice to buy fancy “ergonomic” chairs. I no longer believe it’s good advice, because back pain is not linked to sitting too much.
Jan 5, 2017 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Added footnote about the lack of a link between back pain and sitting too much.
Jan 5, 2017 — Microbreaking — Major revision based on a much more clearly spelled out and evidence-based rationale for microbreaking that does not depend on sitting as a risk factor for back pain.
Jan 4, 2017 — The Trouble with Chairs — Major correction — New section explains my new position, which is the opposite of my old position: “Sitting a lot is not — repeat, not — a risk factor for low back pain.” Read more about the mistake.
Jan 4, 2017 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major correction — An evidence-based reversal of position and advice about sitting and back pain, correcting a long-standing error: my long-term assumption that too much sitting is a risk factor for back pain was never defensible.
Jan 3, 2017 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — General improvement — Purged some defunct resources, added a couple new ones, and made several corrections (broken links etc).
Dec 31, 2016 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Added a note about the potential of vagus nerve stimulation to control inflammation.
Dec 31, 2016 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Minor addition — Added a footnote linking to an interesting article about the neurology of touch as a major mechanism of massage.
Dec 31, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Significant revision and some important new citations more firmly establishing the link between psychological and lifestyle factors and poor recovery from neck pain. Previously this section relied too much on similar evidence about other problems: it is now more neck-centric.
Dec 30, 2016 — Strength Training Frequency — Cited Arruda et al, an important criticism of Schoenfeld et al. Thanks to Tobias S. for pointing it out.
Dec 30, 2016 — Microbreaking — A variety of minor revisions, clarifications, and modernizations throughout the article.
Dec 29, 2016 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — New section, “Citation badly needed! Are roads really risky?” This now introduces the uncertainties on this topic more thoroughly, with some relevant links and citations.
Dec 22, 2016 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — The premise of this article needs questioning. I’ve added a prominent, important caution to the introduction about the lack of evidence that any running surface is actually risky. I also removed and changed some a few particularly overconfident statements about injury risk. Major revisions forthcoming.
Dec 21, 2016 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Science updated — added citation to the NICE guidelines for low back pain.
Dec 19, 2016 — Many Pages — Three new PainScience.com indexes based on subject categories: conditions, treatments, and explanations for pain.
Dec 10, 2016 — Massage Therapy for Neck Pain, Chest Pain, Arm Pain, and Upper Back Pain — Edited for clarity.
Dec 10, 2016 — Massage Therapy Side Effects — Minor reorganization of the article; added a couple more examples.
Dec 8, 2016 — The Tyranny of Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness — Science update: added a citation to Bower et al, which is very positive about the health benefits of mind-body therapies — a welcome injection of optimism into this article.
Dec 8, 2016 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — New conclusion, with both discouraging and encouraging perspectives, taken from a recent blog post about the challenge of medically unexplained symptoms.
Dec 8, 2016 — Strength Training Frequency — Significant science update, with substantive commentary on Schoenfeld et al and Timmons.
Dec 8, 2016 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — New section devoted to exploration of the link between stress and inflammation.
Dec 6, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added commentary on the “do not offer” acupuncture recommendation in the new NICE guidelines for back pain.
Dec 6, 2016 — Many Pages — Major improvements to printing of all PainScience.com pages. My apologies to visitors and customers who have been less than thrilled with their printing efforts.
Dec 5, 2016 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Minor addition — A note about aquajogging.
Dec 5, 2016 — Many Pages — Updates to help pages and customer information about offline reading options for PainScience.com tutorials.
Dec 3, 2016 — Diagnosing Runner’s Knee — Significant revision. The article now gets to the point quicker, and is less wordy overall. Several side points were been moved into footnotes. Added some links and a couple citations.
Dec 2, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Elaborated — Added table contrasting tension headache with migraine — quite useful for many visitors, I hope.
Dec 1, 2016 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Added a mobile-only article summary. Added a paragraph about sensation-enhanced placebo.
Dec 1, 2016 — Placebo Power Hype — New section: “Sensation-enhanced placebo: the basis for most therapies for pain.”
Nov 30, 2016 — Vitamin D for Pain — Major update. Total renovation of this article continues with many additions and changes today: several citations and footnotes, some important new key points, some less important but interesting tangents, more specific recommendations, and a lot of reorganizing to continue making the page more useful to readers.
Nov 30, 2016 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Science update, mostly concerning the relationship between inflammation and stress.
Nov 29, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, shrunk not stuck —
Nov 28, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Revised introduction to treatments, citing Diercks as an interesting example.
Nov 28, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section, article abstract —
Nov 27, 2016 — Vitamin D for Pain — Added fun little footnote about the cloudiest places on Earth. I live in one of them …
Nov 27, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added some useful new indirect evidence about SMT for migraine (Chaibi et al).
Nov 27, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update — Cited Chaibi et al on spinal manipulative therapy for migraine.
Nov 26, 2016 — Objectivity is Overrated — A couple additions and some revision.
Nov 25, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Edited — Added some important footnotes and clarifications.
Nov 24, 2016 — Insomnia Until it Hurts — Science update, added a citation about the relationship between sleep quality and immunity.
Nov 23, 2016 — Does Ultrasound Therapy Work? — Big science update — Added a table of summarized recent reviews, including six new citations from the last decade (basically all still about scanty, crappy evidence). Several related editorial changes.
Nov 23, 2016 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Minor science update, added a new review (Desmeules) of TENS for rotator cuff tendinopathy.
Nov 23, 2016 — The Pressure Question in Massage Therapy — Added a particularly high quality mobile-only article summary.
Nov 22, 2016 — The Power of Barking — Three deep, dorky new sections about the human talent for causality inference and how it leads us astray. (Man, this is a really weird article, but I’m not giving up on it.)
Nov 21, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added a few new citations about the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and it’s correlation with chronic pain.
Nov 20, 2016 — Vitamin D for Pain — Major update. All new introduction explaining and exploring the link between vitamin D deficiency and chronic pain, with a much greater focus on being of service to readers. Includes discussion of the recent controversy over whether or not vitamin D deficiency is a “pandemic.”
Nov 20, 2016 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added Vitamin D deficiency and chronic low-grade inflammation.
Nov 20, 2016 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added new section about vitamin D.
Nov 20, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — New section about vitamin D deficiency and the nighttime bone pain caused by osteomalacia.
Nov 20, 2016 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Added new sections about vitamin D deficiency and the general concept of excessive DOMS as a symptom of other health problems.
Nov 19, 2016 — Homeopathy Schmomeopathy — Additions: a very substantial related reading section, and a new section about the FTC’s new crackdown on homeopathy products.
Nov 19, 2016 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Minor additions: a sidebar about the FTC’s recent crackdown on homeopathy, some new resources, and news about the North American brand change from “Traumeel” to “T-Relief.”
Nov 18, 2016 — Quite a Stretch — Rewritten — Complex and thorough modernization and other improvements.
Nov 18, 2016 — Smoking and Chronic Pain — Added a related reading section with links to help with quitting. Added a minor item with citation about smoking being (ironically) a short term pain-killer.
Nov 18, 2016 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — New treatment option reviewed: vagus nerve stimulation.
Nov 18, 2016 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Minor upgrade — Added an important point about the potential of novel sensory input to treat chronic pain.
Nov 17, 2016 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Content added — Greg Lehman’s “Fundamentals of Treatment” — some specific guidelines for structuralism-free treatment.
Nov 17, 2016 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Added a special sidebar, “Fundamentals of Treatment” — some practical, sensitization-friendly treatment principles for pros.
Nov 16, 2016 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Minor addition: a sidebar about “the wilderness of the medically unexplained.”
Nov 16, 2016 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — New section —
Nov 16, 2016 — Why So “Negative”? — Added a minor funny note about hate e-mailers who can’t be bothered to specify what they are complaining about.
Nov 16, 2016 — Stuck in My Throat — Added more updates about to the story about on-going episodes of globus, more integration of the implications of my updates, miscellaneous minor editing, and a new list of possible musculoskeletal causes (from sources like Kortequee). Also added a mobile-only article summary.
Nov 16, 2016 — Salamander and Regeneration Science — New section about the naked mole rat’s pain immunity superpower.
Nov 15, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Rewrite — A new way of looking at how trigger points cause the sensation of “stiffness” and what happens when we try to stretch them out.
Nov 15, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Modest revision — Reorganized presentation of the practical and theoretical challenges with stretching trigger points.
Nov 15, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major update — Almost all of the stretching sections have been edited, revised, and modernized.
Nov 12, 2016 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — New section — “Manual therapy needs to get beyond being ‘manual’.”
Nov 12, 2016 — Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Added “Why is exercise healthy?” sidebar.
Nov 12, 2016 — Modality Empires — New section: “Manual therapy needs to get beyond being ‘manual’.”
Nov 12, 2016 — A Historical Perspective On Aches ‘n’ Pains — Minor edit: added a particularly good turn of phrase to the conclusion (“the speculations of desperate patients and opportunistic cure purveyors”).
Nov 12, 2016 — The Trouble with Chairs — Added “Why is exercise healthy?” sidebar.
Nov 12, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor editing — Made the point of the section more clearly.
Nov 11, 2016 — Vitamin D for Pain — Significant science update. Added a significant new citation (Wu, plus some older ones, and upgraded the article to use popup footnotes instead of inline links.
Nov 10, 2016 — Placebo Power Hype — New section: “Placebo minimization: what if we sell it with a wink?”
Nov 6, 2016 — The Chiropractic Controversies — Added a mobile-only article summary.
Nov 5, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Added an article summary. Miscellaneous improvements, mainly to the introduction and about fibromyalgia.
Nov 4, 2016 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Small but important clarification about load management: new first paragraph of resting section.
Nov 4, 2016 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Added a mobile-only article summary.
Nov 2, 2016 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a mobile-only article summary.
Nov 2, 2016 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Added a particularly high quality mobile-only article summary.
Nov 1, 2016 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Added a mobile-only article summary.
Oct 31, 2016 — Does Posture Matter? — Summarized — Added a smartphone-only article summary.
Oct 31, 2016 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Revised — An expanded and improved introduction, and a new smartphone-only article summary.
Oct 29, 2016 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Short new section: “DOMS timing: just how delayed is it?”
Oct 25, 2016 — Many Pages — More than 40 key articles on the site now have carefully crafted summaries visible to mobile users only, where they are most needed (see more information & examples). I’ll be adding batches of new summaries for months to come!
Oct 23, 2016 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added mobile summary, and a “perspective” sidebar warning against snake oily imposters.
Oct 21, 2016 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Minor clarification — Small but worthwhile clarifications of the 500 Dalton rule and the “Osmosis mistake” (which I continue to get too much ignorant email about).
Oct 21, 2016 — The Chiropractic Controversies — Editing and reorganization of the introduction, a new summary of the main controversies, and a significant new reference about Medicare billing.
Oct 21, 2016 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Revision of the first three sections: more careful use of terminology, more clarity about what this article is about, and more nuance about the idea that it’s hard to “outsmart” anxiety. Added an important citation about insomnia as a risk factor for anxiety.
Oct 20, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited — Thorough revision and modernization. Although I revised this section just five years ago, it needed it again!
Oct 20, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Edited — Thorough revision and modernization. Although I revised this section a mere five years ago, it needed it again!
Oct 20, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Edited — Thorough revision and modernization. Although I revised this section just five years ago, it needed it again!
Oct 19, 2016 — Placebo Power Hype — Science update: coverage of another round of nonsense about “placebos without deception.”
Oct 18, 2016 — (Almost) Never Use Ice on Low Back Pain! — Light editing, miscellaneous clarifications and modernization, especially an introduction to the idea of sensitization.
Oct 15, 2016 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Added link to new opioids article, and a footnote clarifying the mechanism of action of “gut burning.” Added information about availability and the new generic equivalent of Voltaren.
Oct 15, 2016 — Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — Several miscellaneous improvements, especially new information about the role of inflammation and “inflammaging.”
Oct 15, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Littlewood et al now provides some more substantive support for the theory of functional freezing and related rehabilitation methods.
Oct 14, 2016 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added another plausible explanation for inflammaging: the reactivation or dormant common infections. Also added a citation link metabolic syndrome to neck pain.
Oct 13, 2016 — Diagnosing Runner’s Knee — Improved some formatting, especially on mobile.
Oct 13, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section — More than a thousand new words on the topic of neck cracking.
Oct 12, 2016 — Why Do Muscles Feel Stiff and Tight? — Minor update. Added a neat footnote and citation about the trouble with “average” ranges of motion. Plus miscellaneous editing.
Oct 12, 2016 — What Happened To My Barber? — Minor update to references related to SMT for headache.
Oct 11, 2016 — The Trigger Point Identity Crisis — Added some detail about electromyography and the results of a studies of endplate noise.
Oct 11, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update & elaboration — More and better references and detail about spinal manipulation for headache. Conclusion? Meh.
Oct 8, 2016 — Massage Therapy for Low Back Pain — Many miscellaneous improvements.
Oct 7, 2016 — Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Significant science update. New short section about Chae et al, the “phantom acupuncture” study. Also added a couple related reading links, and a sidebar about spellings/meanings of “qi.”
Oct 4, 2016 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update — Added an excellent scientific example of how disk herniations are less clinically significant than most people expect … but they still matter.
Oct 4, 2016 — Pain Relief from Personal Growth — Significant revision. Migrated many points to footnotes for readability. Added several new links. Clarified the purpose of the article (what it is, and what it’s not). Added a fun featured image.
Oct 3, 2016 — A Historical Perspective On Aches ‘n’ Pains — Minor edit: mentioned physiatry and PM&R (a strange oversight, overdue for correction).
Oct 3, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Clarification — Added an interesting clarification about my wife’s strange experience with frozen shoulder.
Oct 3, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improvements — Many miscellaneous improvements.
Sep 30, 2016 — Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Many miscellaneous minor improvements.
Sep 29, 2016 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Minor update. Edited sciatica surgery section.
Sep 29, 2016 — Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Added a new section about plantar fasciitis.
Sep 29, 2016 — Many Pages — Web tech has advanced far enough that I can now safely use Emoji, and they will render appropriately for 98% of readers. I promise to use them sparingly, but I think they add a lot of character. 😜 There’s now 75 spread out across several hundred pages.
Sep 28, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — There is now a good scientific concensus on the subject of spinal fusion, thanks to papers like Mannion 2013 and Hedlund 2016. Putting a spotlight on this called for some serious revision and editing. The whole section is greatly improved.
Sep 26, 2016 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — More recent test and reviews of steroid injection now cited. No significant change in recommendations, but the evidence is more settled now.
Sep 24, 2016 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — Added a great, practical new tip for diagnosing and predicting medial tibial stress syndrome.
Sep 23, 2016 — Icing for Injuries, Tendinitis, and Inflammation — Minor revision. Some more commentary about the popularity of debunking icing lately.
Sep 23, 2016 — Healer Syndrome — Significant revision: many nice little adjustments and polishing, especially several important citations and useful links. Added related reading section. Added a new featured image.
Sep 22, 2016 — When To Worry About Shortness of Breath … and When Not To — Major revision. Rewrote and revised to put a much stronger spotlight on anxiety and “head games” as a factor in shortness of breath. Reorganized the article in three clearer parts. Added a new summary.
Sep 22, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded — Added much more information.
Sep 22, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Added brief discussion of rotator cuff abnormalities in asymptomatic people.
Sep 20, 2016 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Significant science update. Revised the “Head Games” section to emphasize the implications of a pair of really interesting references (Andersson 2011 and Neogi 2015).
Sep 16, 2016 — Tissue Provocation Therapies — Science update. Cited a high quality new study of Graston technique, Crothers et al.
Sep 15, 2016 — Statistical Significance Abuse — Science update: citation to Pereira 2012 about the lack of large treatment effects in medicine.
Sep 15, 2016 — Ioannidis: Making Medical Science Look Bad Since 2005 — Science update: citation to Pereira 2012 about the lack of large treatment effects in medicine.
Sep 15, 2016 — The “Impress Me” Test — Science update: citation to Pereira 2012 about the lack of large treatment effects in medicine.
Sep 14, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improvements — Editing, and added a diagram of the hypothetical relationship between adhesive and functional freezing.
Sep 13, 2016 — The Respiration Connection — More general revision, mostly organizing and clarifying treatment suggestions.
Sep 13, 2016 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — Added information about the Ober test, finally — and the brand new evidence that it doesn’t measure IT band tightness after all.
Sep 12, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Simplified — This section has been simplified, and now only covers key points about opioids and the relevance of opioids to MPS specifically. Detailed information about opioids has been moved to a separate article, Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains.
Sep 10, 2016 — Pain is Weird — New section —
Sep 9, 2016 — How Many Muscles In the Human Body? — Substantial miscellaneous improvements. Added a couple notable citations about anatomical variations. New featured image.
Sep 9, 2016 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added a more formal and complete definition of anxiety to the introduction.
Sep 8, 2016 — The Respiration Connection — Added a paragraph and footnote about controlled frequency breathing.
Sep 8, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Revision — Some revisions to the discussion of treating systemic inflammation with diet, and added an important link out to a new article on that topic.
Sep 6, 2016 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — Added a nice new Venn diagram depicting the intersection of all three kinds of pain in “hell.” Added section “Do sensitization and centralization belong in the “other” category?”
Sep 4, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Elaborated — Added an explanation of why we call it a “tension” headache, and a few other small changes.
Sep 4, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded — Added more information.
Sep 4, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
Sep 2, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major rewrite — Thorough revision of the introduction to sarcomeres, inspired by the book Life’s Ratchet, about molecular machines.
Sep 2, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Revised the introduction to treatments for clarity and completeness, added new references, and a new short paragraph about risks and harms.
Aug 31, 2016 — Modality Empires — Minor but fun: added Adam Meakin’s very amusing and apt random modality name generator.
Aug 30, 2016 — Massage Therapy for Upper Back Pain — Miscellaneous editing, and in particular replaced paragraph about the evolutionary perspective on back pain with some more relevant explanation of the anatomy of this area. New image showing the location of Spot 11.
Aug 29, 2016 — 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added sidebar about the basic types of pain, nociceptive and neurpathic. Added #10, about exaggerated inflammation.
Aug 29, 2016 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — Added sidebar about migraine, and converted section about the influence of the brain to a sidebar. Elaborated on overlapping pain problems.
Aug 28, 2016 — The 3 Basic Types of Pain — Extensive next day revisions.
Aug 23, 2016 — Studying the Studies — Added a new section about how I find out about good new research.
Aug 19, 2016 — Icing for Injuries, Tendinitis, and Inflammation — Added evidence of efficacy of NSAIDs for common injuries.
Aug 19, 2016 — Heat for Pain and Rehab — Added evidence of efficacy of NSAIDs for common injuries.
Aug 18, 2016 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Improved footnotes/citations regarding other pain-killers. Added key citations about opioid and NSAID efficacy for musculoskeletal pain. Added more early emphasis on the position of pain patient advocacy groups. Miscellaneous editing.
Aug 17, 2016 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Revised — Integrated a near-duplicate section and updated the language a bit.
Aug 17, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Minor science update: interesting new citation about evidence of inflammation suppression at night (Hand et al).
Aug 15, 2016 — Stuck in My Throat — Updated my last update: status report on globus recovery one full year “Post Stone.”
Aug 13, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded — Added information about joint capsule inflating.
Aug 13, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded — Added interesting new evidence about arthrographic distension.
Aug 13, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
Aug 12, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Expanded — Added recommendation to try a ketogenic diet.
Aug 10, 2016 — Massage Therapy for Shoulder Pain — Added a photograph of small massage balls. Added a new section about rotator cuff injuries. Miscellaneous editing. Started logging updates.
Aug 9, 2016 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Minor update — Supported the claim that nocebo is an issue with a great quote from Flynn et al.
Aug 9, 2016 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Added citation about opioid non-responders. Added a TL;DR summary.
Aug 9, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Correction — Removed overconfident statements about the clinical significance of the effects of psychoactive drugs, plus related minor updates.
Aug 9, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Major update — Broadened scope of section to include all pain killers. Added a summary of opioids, and a guide to experimenting with the over-the-counter meds; added more science; merged and edited previously separate sections on rebound pain and muscle relaxants.
Aug 9, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Correction — Removed overconfident statements about the clinical significance of the effects of psychoactive drugs, plus related minor updates.
Aug 9, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Upgrade — Greatly improved information about opioids (and linking to much more information).
Aug 9, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Upgrade — Added much more information.
Aug 9, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Correction — Removed overconfident statements about the clinical significance of the effects of psychoactive drugs, plus related minor updates.
Aug 6, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New chapter —
Aug 5, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Added more general evidence about treatment efficacy.
Aug 4, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Some editing and new caveats.
Aug 4, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Some editing and new caveats.
Aug 3, 2016 — Water Fever and the Fear of Chronic Dehydration — Cited Spigt 2012 on headaches. Added a paragraph about the “water cure.”
Aug 3, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — More information and citations about ineffective knee surgeries for context.
Aug 2, 2016 — Smoking and Chronic Pain — Added example of the effect of smoking on shoulder pain/injuries.
Aug 2, 2016 — The Respiration Connection — More editing. Modernization of footnotes and citations. Added a drawing of a man beathing, and an anatomical diagram of the diaphragm.
Aug 2, 2016 — Is Diagnosis for Pain Problems Reliable? — Added an example of diagnosis that is reliable.
Aug 1, 2016 — Icing, Heating & Tissue Temperature — Cited Petrofsky 2009, regarding the effect of adipose tissue.
Aug 1, 2016 — Hydrotherapy, Water-Powered Rehab — Extensive upgrades and modernization.
Jul 31, 2016 — Does Craniosacral Therapy Work? — Added summary and good/bad/ugly points. Added a good new related reading link, and quoted from it a bit.
Jul 30, 2016 — Spinal Fracture Bracing — Added citations to Louw and Harris about ineffective surgeries in general.
Jul 30, 2016 — A Historical Perspective On Aches ‘n’ Pains — Added more medical and scientific context and some new citations, particularly about orthopedic surgeries and opioids. Some general editing. Removed a small section of dubious value.
Jul 30, 2016 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Added general perspective on the efficacy and safety of orthopedic surgeries.
Jul 29, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Some fresh citations that strongly reinforce the main point of the section, and a few entertaining new examples of weird placebo effects.
Jul 27, 2016 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Major update. Added disclaimer (needed more for this article than most). Edited extensively to focus the article more strongly on official guidelines and reporting exerpt opinion and official guidelines, and greater acknowledgement of controversy. Added related reading section.
Jul 27, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improvements — Several clarifications about diagnosis, and some new citations and expert quotes. Added a paragraph about x-rays.
Jul 26, 2016 — The Respiration Connection — More thorough editing of the introduction, and modernization of discussion of trigger points.
Jul 23, 2016 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Editing, added several references, and a new section about safety issues with over-the-counter medications for perspective.
Jul 23, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Cited van Gent 2007 on training volume and the “fine balance.”
Jul 23, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Cited van Gent 2007 for perspective.
Jul 22, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Huge upgrade: completely rewrote almost everything about trigger points and added much more about fibromyalgia; revised everything about tissue stagnancy, postural stress, and sleeping position; added an important large new section about inflammation and “inflammaging”; added a minor new section about mattresses; added several more specific tips and suggestions.
Jul 20, 2016 — Medical Errors in Perspective — Clarified a key point and added a couple links.
Jul 20, 2016 — IT Band & Patellofemoral Pain Defy Common Sense — Added new images. Beefed up final section about non-biomechanical explanations. Several edits for clarity.
Jul 20, 2016 — Does Cartilage Regeneration Work? — Miscellaneous minor improvements and updates.
Jul 20, 2016 — Does Cartilage Regeneration Work? — Added citation to Louw 2016. Converted all inline citations to footnotes.
Jul 20, 2016 — Alternative Medicine’s Choice — Added citation to Louw 2016 about bogus surgeries, plus a couple minor edits. Added a picture.
Jul 20, 2016 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — Important new evidence that undermines my own debunking, thoroughly acknowledged and analyzed.
Jul 20, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
Jul 20, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
Jul 20, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Science update — Added more information about range of motion and reliability of assessment of ROM.
Jul 19, 2016 — Massage Therapy for Low Back Pain (So Low That It’s Not In the Back) — More editing for clarity. Added much more detail (and science) about the sacroliac joint.
Jul 19, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — New section —
Jul 18, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Improvements — Expanded and added several new citations.
Jul 18, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor addition — Added a little about smoking as a risk factor.
Jul 18, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor addition — Added footnote about other frozen joints, like frozen hips.
Jul 16, 2016 — Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — Transferred and adapted content from a chapter in The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain.
Jul 14, 2016 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added connection between anxiety and inflammation to the introduction.
Jul 13, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Added some information about fibromyalgia and some other causes of non-back morning pain.
Jul 9, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
Jul 9, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Upgraded — Article is now substantive enough for removal of “half-baked” disclaimer, and a title change from frozen shoulder “primer” to “guide.”
Jul 8, 2016 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update — Cited Salata et al.
Jul 8, 2016 — IT Band & Patellofemoral Pain Defy Common Sense — Long overdue revision, upgrades, updating. Added much more scientific context and several citations.
Jul 8, 2016 — A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — Added citation about compression garments (Beliard et al).
Jul 8, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Expanded — New evidence-based prevention risks and tips.
Jul 7, 2016 — When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — Revised intro, clarified a couple points, added a several links to authoritative sources of information on other conditions that can affect the neck.
Jul 7, 2016 — Massage Therapy for Low Back Pain (So Low That It’s Not In the Back) — Revised the first few hundred words for clarity.
Jul 6, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Edits and elaborations for new nocturnal disc swelling section.
Jul 6, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Safety update — Updated for consistency with new CDC guidelines. Thorough editing of the section.
Jul 6, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Edited — General editing, a new citation, more information about general exercise.
Jul 5, 2016 — Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added footnote about the discovery of GABA-eating gut bacteria.
Jul 5, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
Jul 4, 2016 — When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — Added a couple images, some links. Minor editing.
Jul 2, 2016 — A Historical Perspective On Aches ‘n’ Pains — New introductory paragraph, for additional historical context.
Jul 2, 2016 — The Chiropractic Controversies — Cited Bruce Walker’s “aberrant practices that cause significant reputational damage to the profession” (Walker).
Jun 29, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — New section: “What about nocturnal intervertebral disc swelling?”
Jun 28, 2016 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update — Added subsection on risk factors for running injuries.
Jun 23, 2016 — A Recipe for Chronic Neck Pain After Whiplash — Revised for clarity and thoroughness. Added more recent scientific review, adding support to the original citation the article is based on. New, more descriptive headings.
Jun 22, 2016 — The Trigger Point Identity Crisis — Added Dr. James’ bio, miscellaneous minor corrections and editing.
Jun 22, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Safety update — Updated opioid summary for consistency with new CDC guidelines.
Jun 20, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — More editing, clarifying the idea of postural stress at night: “the dosage makes the poison.”
Jun 18, 2016 — Massage Therapy for Back Pain, Hip Pain, and Sciatica — Added footnote explaining contralateral gluteus medius and minimus action. Added footnote about the poor safety record of hip replacement surgery. Miscellaneous minor edits.
Jun 18, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update — Added two footnotes.
Jun 16, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
Jun 15, 2016 — Spinal Subluxation — Added reference to body perception, Moseley 2008.
Jun 15, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Update — Added new intro to section about distorted body image.
Jun 15, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Update — Added new intro to section about distorted body image.
Jun 5, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
Jun 2, 2016 — Trigger Point Doubts — Added a summary of major points to the beginning of the article. Added the story of my evolving views of the subject.
Jun 2, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Important new related reading — Although not an update to the book itself, I’ve published some important related articles about the scientific controversy over the explanation for trigger points: (1) a heavily referenced review of the evidence that a trigger point is a “tiny cramp”; (2) a summary of the academic controversy about trigger point science; (3) the story of my own doubts and how they’ve changed over the years (this is the “main” article on this theme; it was around before but has been revised heavily). All of this stuff is inside baseball, and not of interest to most readers, but it’s critical to my credibility as an author on this topic — it shows that I’ve really done my homework, and I’m not ignoring the concerns of skeptical experts — so for now I’ve made everything freely available to all site visitors instead of integrating them into the book. Nevertheless, the book has already been heavily influenced by this work, and will continue to be.
Jun 1, 2016 — Trigger Point Doubts — Major update: new conclusion, and extensive editing for consistency with the launch of two important new related articles, The Trigger Point Identity Crisis and Trigger Points on Trial.
May 31, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Miscellaneous improvements — Added links to several authoritative/useful sources. General editing to clean up and clarify recent additions. More descriptive headings. Added related reading recommendations.
May 30, 2016 — The Trigger Point Identity Crisis — Editing and integration with other related articles.
May 28, 2016 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New section — New section discussing the small size of magnesium ions and the 500 Dalton rule of absorption. This isn’t exactly a reversal of my position on absorption, because I was always officially and openly agnostic about it. However, I also clearly thought absorption was a priori implausible, and this update reverses that opinion, which is worth emphasizing.
May 27, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Improvements — Added more information and a citation about causes of thunderclap headache, and “don’t panic” graphic.
May 26, 2016 — The Insomnia Guide — Science update: evidence for CBT for insomnia is now quite strong, see Trauer.
May 24, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Editing for clarity and readability, first half. More information about the vulnerability of the paraspinals to trigger points. New image of a messy bed.
May 23, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added a good new example of a trigger point “whisperer” myth.
May 19, 2016 — Water Fever and the Fear of Chronic Dehydration — Minor update today: just added a couple fun pictures, and a tiny bit of editing.
May 18, 2016 — Muscle Pain as an Injury Complication — Revised the introduction.
May 17, 2016 — Does Posture Matter? — Correction — A helpful reader pointed out that a 2010 study of “power poses” may not be very good science. Revised accordingly, and made a few other changes.
May 16, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Major revision: a new structure for the article. It’s now built around three possible causes of morning back pain. Modernization of trigger point information as well.
May 14, 2016 — 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — An important update: added a whole bunch of new information about inflammatory back pain. Its absence in previous versions of the article was a major oversight.
May 12, 2016 — Does Posture Matter? — Science update — Added citation about “text neck.”
May 12, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Upgraded — Added citation about “text neck,” and some modernization of recommendations related to posture and ergonomics.
May 10, 2016 — The Trigger Point Identity Crisis — Important clarifications about presumptive treatment, and a more precise definition of “spasm” and the difference from non-neurologically mediated contracture. Miscellaneous editing.
May 10, 2016 — Sensitization in Chronic Pain — Added citation about the effect on sleep problems on sensitization.
May 10, 2016 — The Not-So-Humble Healer — General editing and modernizing. Added several links to relevant articles that have been written since.
May 9, 2016 — Massage Therapy for Back Pain, Hip Pain, and Sciatica — Miscellaneous editing and improvements. Fixed a few minor errors, moved some details into footnotes.
May 8, 2016 — Healer Syndrome — Editing, modernization, added some footnotes.
May 7, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Finally added lacrosse ball recommendation.
May 7, 2016 — Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — New section —
May 6, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major update — Fully modernized risk and safety information about all over-the-counter analgesics.
May 4, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added citation about the efficacy of ibuprofen for headache.
May 4, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update — Added citations about causes of thunderclap headaches.
May 3, 2016 — Insomnia Until it Hurts — Science update: added information about central senitization and cited Burton et al.
May 2, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Clarification of the significance of some previously cited science, Ferreira et al.
May 1, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science updated — New citations and more information about spontaneously resolving herniations.
Apr 26, 2016 — Smoking and Chronic Pain — General editing for clarity.
Apr 23, 2016 — Icing, Heating & Tissue Temperature — Corrections and clarifications, and new information about body temperature in baths, more information about fat as an insulator, and an interesting video.
Apr 22, 2016 — Is Diagnosis for Pain Problems Reliable? — Added motion palpation. Added a citation about detecting craniosacral therapy. Started update logging.
Apr 20, 2016 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Added more information about possible harms, a really bad pun, a link to The Road to Wellville, and a reader comment about the “fancyness” of TENS devices over the years.
Apr 15, 2016 — Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Added section about pulsed electromagnetic field therapy.
Apr 14, 2016 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update — Significant revision in light of (finally!) good new evidence about natural running and injury prevention.
Apr 14, 2016 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Significant revision in light of (finally!) good new evidence about natural running and injury prevention.
Apr 14, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Significant revision in light of (finally!) good new evidence about natural running and injury prevention.
Apr 14, 2016 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — Significant revision in light of (finally!) good new evidence about natural running and injury prevention.
Apr 1, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Additions — Added more information about spinal adjustment.
Apr 1, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Additions — Added more information about red flags.
Mar 31, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Beefed up the evidence that vertebroplasty is an ineffective surgical fix for an allegedly structural problem.
Mar 22, 2016 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Minor science update about glucosamine.
Mar 21, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added some particularly good science to shore up the personal anecdote added in January.
Mar 17, 2016 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Good news update — Another good news update: ESWT is starting to look more promising. The section has been revised to be much more positive.
Mar 14, 2016 — Placebo Power Hype — New section: “Is it okay to pay for a placebo?”
Mar 13, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — More evidence about more serious side effects of statins, and controversy about prevalence.
Mar 11, 2016 — Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — A couple minor changes to make sure it’s completely clear that the article is not arguing that technique doesn’t matter in powerlifting. It does. This article is about occupational lifting, and powerlifting is raised only for an interesting perspective on that topic.
Mar 8, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor science update — Added a note about the odds of back pain having a serious cause.
Feb 29, 2016 — Water Fever and the Fear of Chronic Dehydration — Added several examples of other personal habits that have clear origins in marketing rather than science. (Also, finally started logging updates, after years of unlogged updates.)
Feb 28, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Improved — Added a new key point about how to recognize the pain of a nerve root pinch.
Feb 26, 2016 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New advice — Not only a new section but new good news! First version added Feb 2, substantial edit and expansion Feb 26.
Feb 24, 2016 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Added a bunch of further reading suggestions.
Feb 13, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Beefy tune-up for the “pillars” of trigger point science: several new and carefully written footnotes, linking to many painstakingly summarized papers for readers who really want to delve. It’s a bigger update than it looks like on the surface.
Feb 8, 2016 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor science update — Citation of Collins 2008, a review of icing evidence (or the lack of it), plus related editing.
Feb 5, 2016 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Science update — New bad news evidence about manual lymphatic drainage.
Feb 2, 2016 — Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — Completed major revision and modernization. (After languishing in obscurity for the last eight years — almost never visited by anyone! And forgotten by me.)
Jan 27, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — New footnote supporting the use of education (like this tutorial!) to treat chronic pain.
Jan 26, 2016 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Edited — Clarified a key concept: the methodology of self-treatment experimentation.
Jan 14, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added a strong (and interesting) reference about surgical lavage and debridement.
Jan 13, 2016 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Added a substantial new section about left and right low back pain.
Jan 12, 2016 — Stuck in My Throat — Added “Appendix: A story about a real lump in the throat.”
Jan 11, 2016 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — More editing, more! Added some better information about pain being a poor indicator, and the role of myofascial trigger points. This article has become extremely busy in the last couple months — about 4,000 readers per day, as described here — so I am really polishing it and making sure that it’s the best possible answer to people’s fears about back pain.
Jan 9, 2016 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added some general explanation of cognititive-behavioural therapy, with a key reference.
Jan 6, 2016 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Added table of worst possible causes of back pain. Miscellaneous editing and organizing.
Jan 5, 2016 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Added a good personal anecdote … because my spine is degenerating! Also, a footnote about surprisingly painless joint damage.
Jan 4, 2016 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Update — Careful and thorough editing/update of NSAID recommendations, especially with regards to safety.
Jan 4, 2016 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Update — Careful and thorough editing/update of NSAID recommendations, especially with regards to safety.
Jan 4, 2016 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Update — Careful and thorough editing/update of NSAID recommendations, especially with regards to safety.
Jan 1, 2016 — Placebo Power Hype — New section: “Is the placebo effect getting stronger? The Tuttle kerfuffle”
Dec 31, 2015 — The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — Minor science update.
Dec 31, 2015 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — Discussed the implications of some (weak but noteworthy) evidence about screening for the risk of lower limb injuries in athletes.
Dec 29, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added citations to shore up efficacy, and evidence that taping tinkers with knee sensation.
Dec 16, 2015 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added discussion of a popular acupuncture-for-back-pain paper, Cherkin 2009. Which is not fit to line a birdcage, in my opinion.
Dec 12, 2015 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor science update — Added citation to shore up evidence that taping tinkers with knee sensation.
Dec 10, 2015 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Edited — Modernization of trigger point summary, more science, and more acknowledgement of controversies.
Dec 9, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added some hard evidence on the minor (non-lethal) risks of SMT from Carlesso 2010.
Dec 9, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added an interesting reference to Carlesso 2013 with some discussion of the implications.
Dec 8, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Minor science update — Citation of Collins 2008 and Bleakley 2012, reviewing icing evidence (or the lack of it), and a few related edits.
Dec 4, 2015 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Edited — Modernization of trigger point summary, more science, acknowledgement of controversies.
Nov 18, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited — Yet more modernization and clarification.
Nov 17, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited — Modernization and clarification.
Nov 17, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited — Modernization and clarification.
Nov 17, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited — Modernization and clarification.
Nov 11, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added more evidence showing no causal connection with hip weakness, plus related editing.
Nov 11, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added a humility citation, conceding the absence of scientific evidence that massage helps neck pain. Also, modernization summary of trigger point therapy.
Nov 10, 2015 — Tennis Elbow Guide — Isometric contraction for pain control, based on Rio.
Nov 9, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited — Tuned for consistency with my current views.
Nov 6, 2015 — Massage Therapy for Bruxism, Jaw Clenching, and TMJ Syndrome — Added new section, “Don’t neglect your neck.”
Nov 6, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added a footnote about trigger points being associated with jaw pain.
Nov 4, 2015 — Contrast Hydrotherapy — Added a citation about icing science. General editing. Moved several examples and elaborations into footnotes.
Nov 4, 2015 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added surprisingly good news about methylene blue injections.
Nov 4, 2015 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added surprisingly good news about methylene blue injections.
Nov 3, 2015 — Extraordinary Health Claims — First edit since the article was created about a decade ago.
Nov 2, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added a little more information about the nature of uncovertebral joints.
Oct 31, 2015 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Added a section about over-the-counter pain-killers.
Oct 31, 2015 — The Insomnia Guide — Added section “Using medications to prevent minor aches and pains from interfering with sleep.”
Oct 31, 2015 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor science update — Citation of Collins 2008, a review of icing evidence (or the lack of it), plus a few related edits.
Oct 29, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Upgraded — More and clearer red flag details, especially about spinal cord trouble (myelopathy).
Oct 27, 2015 — The Respiration Connection — Some basic editing of the first half of the article, through “8 reasons.”
Oct 26, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section —
Oct 19, 2015 — Stuck in My Throat — Good news: added another update on my own story, reporting on the successful resolution of my globus.
Oct 16, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Revised — Just modernizing and clarifying.
Oct 10, 2015 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — Made a new section dedicated to other causes, after adding a science update about a fascinating example of a rare cause of stubborn shin pain.
Oct 7, 2015 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Updated discussion of risks and benefits of medications.
Oct 1, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New links — Added links to several other relevant articles around the site, and most of those have been updated recently.
Sep 17, 2015 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Correction — Fixed an incorrect premise of a minor point: water vapour is pure by definition and cannot be salty, and therefore cannot be even a slightly plausible mechanism of delivery of salt to mucous membranes.
Sep 15, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Some referencing about central sensitization, especially this “fun” fact: muscle pain may be especially good at causing CS.
Sep 11, 2015 — Stuck in My Throat — Added a section “Maybe muscle pain?” and a good photograph of my bizarre tonsil stone.
Sep 11, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New Section — Better late than never, I’ve added a summary of the expanded integrated hypothesis from Gerwin et al. (2004).
Sep 10, 2015 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — adjustments — Small but meaningful improvements regarding safety and efficacy.
Sep 8, 2015 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Correction and improvement — Fixed incorrect information about skin pruning and added the actual (and much more interesting) explanation; cited to substantiate the impermeability of the stratum corneum.
Sep 1, 2015 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — There’s been more study of the role of bacteria in back pain. And still not enough!
Aug 28, 2015 — Tennis Elbow Guide — ESWT ultrasound.
Aug 15, 2015 — Stuck in My Throat — Added a major update: the discovery of a very likely organic cause for my globus.
Jul 27, 2015 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Added some arnica trial evidence.
Jul 9, 2015 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Some good news changed to bad news: a discouraging follow-up study on arch-specific stretching.
Jun 27, 2015 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New —
Jun 27, 2015 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Minor update — Added statins.
Jun 17, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Major update — Completely rewritten and greatly expanded, with much more science, emphasizing strength as a worthwhile treatment option.
Jun 16, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Revised — Editing and some new science about changing head posture.
Jun 15, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — More data on neck pain recovery rates
Jun 10, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor addition — Added a patient anecdote about a strange muscle spasm experience … which I know all too well.
Jun 10, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Added an expert quote.
Jun 8, 2015 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Upgrade — This article went viral on Facebook today. As I often do when an article gets a crapload of traffic, I did some work on it: a table of contents and a bunch of miscellaneous editing and polishing.
Jun 1, 2015 — Quite a Stretch — Upgrade — Added table of contents.
May 16, 2015 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Upgraded — Many editorial and referencing improvements.
May 7, 2015 — Massage Therapy for Bruxism, Jaw Clenching, and TMJ Syndrome — Added new section, “When massage and relaxation aren’t enough: management of nastier jaw pain.”
May 7, 2015 — The Insomnia Guide — Added section about lighting and gadgets.
May 7, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Addition — Added sidebar about osmophobia and migraine.
Mar 17, 2015 — Muscle Pain as an Injury Complication — Added the example of tension headaches in post-concussion syndrome, and some miscellaneous minor editing.
Mar 15, 2015 — Massage Therapy for Neck Pain, Chest Pain, Arm Pain, and Upper Back Pain — Miscellaneous improvements.
Mar 13, 2015 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor update — Small addendum regarding physical therapy.
Mar 10, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added strong evidence from Freedman et al that Q-angles aren’t worth measuring.
Mar 3, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added brief example of nerve pinch by vertebral artery twistiness.
Mar 3, 2015 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added information and references about transitional vertebrae and Bertolotti’s syndrome.
Feb 28, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added three good references and a diagram about how much “wiggle” room nerve roots have.
Feb 28, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added three good references and a diagram about how much “wiggle” room nerve roots have.
Feb 28, 2015 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added 3 good references and a diagram about how much “wiggle” room nerve roots have.
Feb 28, 2015 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Expanded — Added several items that might cause diagnostic confusion.
Feb 27, 2015 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — New section —
Feb 24, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Expanded — Added about 350 words about neck circle safety.
Feb 24, 2015 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New sub-topic — Added IT band plungering. No really! If it’s stuck, suck it!
Feb 22, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Two new science reviews considered and cited.
Feb 20, 2015 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Upgrade — Added a table of contents (finally).
Feb 15, 2015 — Voltaren Gel: Does It Work? — Significant safety update (and a reassuring one).
Feb 11, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Expanded — Added discussion of surprising data about rates of reinjury.
Feb 10, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Expanded — More than doubled the size of the section with an interesting addition: “Rupture: not as obvious as you’d think!”
Feb 9, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Added an interesting subsection about “fabella syndrome.”
Jan 28, 2015 — The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — Added new section, based on Whiteside. A little miscellaneous modernizing and editing.
Jan 23, 2015 — The Respiration Connection — Upgraded “hydraulics” diagram.
Jan 15, 2015 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — New section — Added an appendix about the Skeptical Massage Therapists Facebook group.
Jan 14, 2015 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Minor update — Made the tip more concise, and linked out to a new short article about smoking and pain.
Jan 4, 2015 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Rewritten — Completely revised for the 3rd edition of the Workbook: I no longer recommend it.
Dec 30, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New citation — Added an important new reference to a scientific paper critical of conventional wisdom.
Dec 22, 2014 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Minor clarifications about pedorthist scope of practice.
Dec 22, 2014 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Correction — Reduced confidence in the results of a major study of special footwear (Knapik, the subject of the last update). Later removed the citation altogether.
Dec 22, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Correction — Reduced confidence in the results of a major study of special footwear (Knapik, the subject of the last update). Later removed the reference altogether.
Dec 16, 2014 — Stuck in My Throat — Added a brief epilogue, and clarification of several of the all-in-your-head concepts.
Dec 6, 2014 — Stuck in My Throat — Added information about Eagle syndrome and gargling.
Nov 28, 2014 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor update — More introduction editing for readability.
Nov 23, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added a new good-news study about massage for neck pain.
Oct 23, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added a reference for reassuring data about recovery rates.
Oct 22, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Upgraded references on neck pain recovery rates.
Sep 23, 2014 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New item — Added a brief but well-researched review of platelet-rich plasma injection.
Sep 23, 2014 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section — A short new section, finally, on PRP injections. It’s brief, but links to a main, free article covering the topic in some detail.
Sep 23, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — A short new section, finally, on PRP injections. I’ve also published a more detailed free article about this.
Sep 23, 2014 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New item — Added a brief but well-researched review of platelet-rich plasma injection.
Sep 23, 2014 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — A short new section, finally, on PRP injections. I’ve also published a more detailed free article about this.
Sep 5, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Like new — New, but shorter: just a topic summary now, linking to a main, free article.
Aug 23, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — General editing, plus a stronger and clearer statement about targeting the vastus medialis.
Aug 23, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — General editing and polish, now that the dust has settled from the 2nd edition launch.
Aug 23, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — General editing and polish, now that the dust has settled from the 2nd edition launch.
Jul 29, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major update — Extensive revision for the 2nd edition.
Jul 29, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major update — Extensive revision for the 2nd edition.
Jul 29, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — A new section for the 2nd edition.
Jul 29, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — A new section for the 2nd edition.
Jul 29, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — A new section for the 2nd edition.
Jul 29, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — A new section for the 2nd edition.
Jul 29, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Updated — Significant revision and expansion for the 2nd edition.
Jul 29, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New edition — Major revision of the book with the help of, Tony Ingram, PT, MSo. The new edition has a few new sections, a strong new focus on the value of judicious exercise therapy, and updated and expanded citations for many key points. Read more about the 2nd edition.
Jul 25, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major update — The first complete professional editing of this book has now been completed. Although the difference will not be obvious to most readers, several hundred improvements and corrections were made, and it is definitely a smoother read.
Jul 12, 2014 — Tennis Elbow Guide — General editing and more details throughout first half. New section about exercise. Improved description of forearm mobilizations.
Jul 11, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added some important acknowledgements that the science of trigger points is a bit half-baked, and linked out to much more information for the curious.
Jul 11, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — More content — Explanation of the difference between a subluxation and an MID.
Jul 11, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added Digital Motion X-ray.
Jul 9, 2014 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added interesting perspective from veterinary medicine: as with humans, correlations between structure and pain and disability in animals are poor.
Jul 9, 2014 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Major edit — Modernized. I continue to hone my understanding of pain weirdness science and its implications.
Jul 8, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — New footnotes about the theory of acupuncture/trigger point overlap.
Jul 8, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Plugged a good quality microbreaking reminder app Backache… which was actually inspired by this book. Very cool!
Jul 8, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor Update — Added some humour: a funny video about a core strengthening product.
Jul 7, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — And, so sorry, it’s bad news.
Jul 1, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added citation to a key 2012 study of the effectiveness of adjustment for neck pain.
Jul 1, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New — A new section, but also a summary of an existing free article.
May 29, 2014 — Tennis Elbow Guide — Traffic to this article has increased sharply, so I gave it some love: a thorough general upgrade. I particularly clarified icing rationale and diagnosis.
May 25, 2014 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New — New tip about an extremely efficient, convenient exercise routine.
May 24, 2014 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor addition — Brief review of calf-stretching gadgets
May 15, 2014 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor update — Added a fun sidebar about a bizarre source of shin pain.
Apr 24, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — A minor topic, but one of the most overdue sections I’ve ever added to the book: I’ve been asked about these devices a lot over the years.
Apr 16, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update — More perspective and detailed information on stretching for recovery.
Apr 2, 2014 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — A new section mostly based on a particularly striking new treatment story from a reader.
Apr 1, 2014 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Upgraded — Much more information about the (minor) significance of bone spurs. They may not matter a lot, but it’s good, useful, evidence-based context.
Apr 1, 2014 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Updated — Added good news story from a reader about a case with a cyst, and improved the information about cysts at the same time.
Mar 19, 2014 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — New section — New section about massage for fibromyalgia and Li et al.
Mar 19, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added evidence about the effect of massage on fibromyalgia.
Jan 30, 2014 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — The first complete professional editing of this book has now been completed. Although the difference will not be obvious to most readers, several hundred improvements and corrections were made, and it is definitely a smoother read.
Jan 16, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Editing — General revision for quality. Added the cheek-bite analogy story for colour.
Jan 16, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Editing — General revision for quality.
Jan 8, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Rewritten — Cleaned up and modernized, more information, especially a more useful and evidence-based self-treatment tip.
Jan 8, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Rewritten — Cleaned up and modernized, more information, especially a more useful and evidence-based self-treatment tip.
Jan 5, 2014 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added a story about phantom limb pain.
Jan 1, 2014 — Healer Syndrome — Added section “Chronic pain may not have a solution.”
Jan 1, 2014 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Major update — The first complete professional editing of this book has now been completed. Although the difference will not be obvious to most readers, several hundred improvements and corrections were made, and it is definitely a smoother read.
Jan 1, 2014 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section —
Dec 24, 2013 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added evidence that being a dirty rotten pronator is … no big deal. Also (finally) added a concluding section about alternatives to structuralism.
Dec 24, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update — A (slightly) good news science update about the effect of stretching on recovery.
Dec 23, 2013 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update — Added another bad-news citation, and type of evidence.
Dec 23, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added another bad-news citation, and type of evidence.
Dec 23, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added some great backup from a terrific surgeon blogger — who advocates for the necessity of testing placebo surgeries, exactly as I have in this section for many years.
Dec 21, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Minor but fascinating new item about the myth of anaesthetic paralysis and the dominance of the CNS over muscle tone — the kind of nifty item I just love to add to the book!
Dec 20, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Expanded — Added subsection on electroacupuncture.
Dec 20, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Reporting on the greatest hits of back pain science (Machado 2009, a source of several important points here and in other sections).
Dec 14, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor yoga update — Added a reference and paragraph about the risks of yoga, which are minor but real, especially for neck pain.
Dec 13, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — An introduction to one of the most important theoretical challengers to the traditional explanation for trigger points.
Dec 12, 2013 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added a quote from a professional reader supporting my opinion of the prevalence of structuralism.
Dec 11, 2013 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section — Well, sort of new. I blogged about this in the summer of 2011, and I’m just now getting around to transplanting it here. But “here” was always its ultimate destination.
Dec 11, 2013 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update — I didn’t really ever expect a science update about tuning-fork diagnosis. But here it is! See the concluding footnote.
Dec 11, 2013 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Added a fun science item about the amazing ankle mobility of the Twa people of Africa.
Nov 21, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added a bad-news citation. Sorry about that.
Nov 21, 2013 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — Added a bad-news citation. Sorry about that.
Nov 7, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — Intriguing new evidence of circulatory impairment in PFPS patients.
Oct 24, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section —
Oct 23, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Minor update — Added a couple paragraphs about exactly where in a muscle strains tend to occur, and why.
Oct 3, 2013 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New case study — Added a fascinating and extreme example of the effect of running style from a case study of an ultra-runner.
Sep 26, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Some science showing that the effect of hamstring tightness on back function/pain isn’t exactly potent.
Sep 20, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added some science, to start building an evidence-based case for resting.
Sep 20, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Another good news science update: more about how surprisingly well knees handle running.
Sep 12, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Interpretation of a little junky new science about Pilates.
Aug 20, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added a new study to the pile of evidence that abnormalities are common in healthy people and vice versa.
Aug 13, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Comedy update — Added an amusing, extended example from the TV show, The IT Crowd.
Aug 11, 2013 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Science update — Updated several references, and added an important new one about massage for low back pain, which also spawned an entire new section about the failure of supposedly “advanced” massage techniques.
Jul 20, 2013 — Mind Over Pain — Science update — A couple of clarifications inspired by, and quotes from a new article by Lorimer Moseley for theConversation.com: Pain really is in the mind, but not in the way you think.
Jul 20, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor science update — Added a tiny, flawed study about yoga for neck pain (for what little it’s worth).
Jul 20, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added a quote that beautifully expresses the reason for treating chronic pain with … maturity.
Jul 20, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — An overdue upgrade! This way pain and fear power each other is now explained much more clearly and thoroughly than before. It’s noteworthy that, with this update, Dr. Lorimer Moseley’s valuable perspective on back pain is now fairly well-represented in this book.
Jul 19, 2013 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor update — Edited introduction for clarity, and added a couple new “to-do” topics.
Jul 11, 2013 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New recommendation — Now recommending a specific type of MRI to scan for bone swelling. Thanks to reader R Russell for the suggestion.
Jul 9, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — A particularly “good news” science update about how running is, counterintuitively, actually pretty good for joints — not hard on them.
Jul 9, 2013 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — A particularly “good news” science update about how running is, counterintuitively, actually pretty good for joints — not hard on them.
Jul 3, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Major update — Much more detailed and evidence-based tips for estimating recovery time.
Jun 13, 2013 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Update — A new introduction for the chapter about the trend of anti-running “science.”
Jun 5, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Added a reader anecdote about stretching the IT band helping her anterior knee pain.
Jun 5, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — Important new chapter about a hype-hot news item.
Jun 4, 2013 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Added a terrific quote from a famous podiatrist about inconsistency in orthotics prescriptions.
Jun 1, 2013 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Added a good quote about inconsistency in the prescription of orthotics.
May 30, 2013 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Revised the introduction a bit: just a little richer and creamier.
May 29, 2013 — Tennis Elbow Guide — Added surgery section with fascinating results of placebo surgery.
May 29, 2013 — Does Posture Matter? — New section —
May 29, 2013 — Mind Over Pain — Science update — Added an important good-news citation, Vibe-Fersum et al, and discussion.
May 29, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Good news update: new study shows a clear reduction in nonspecific musculoskeletal pain after vitamin D supplementation.
May 29, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New evidence — Rare good news: the first good quality scientific test showing that reducing fear is actually good medicine. The section got a decent editing as well.
May 29, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section —
May 29, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New evidence — Rare good news: the first good quality scientific test of “the confidence cure” had promising results — which is just about the best thing that could have happened to this chapter.
May 29, 2013 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Updated — Added more detail and a couple examples.
May 9, 2013 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor update — Interesting new information about what Ida Rolf believed about the relationship beween thixotropy and the idea of fascial release (hint: “nonsense”).
May 8, 2013 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — More editing and minor improvements. Added the barking dog image. Made the article more “shareable,” with new metadata for social media sites.
May 2, 2013 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Minor update — Trivial but fun addition of the sloth cuddling cat video.
May 2, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Apt aging joints humour added, via comedian Louis CK.
Apr 10, 2013 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Minor but nice: a really good new quote adds some entertaining and genuinely fascinating perspective to this section.
Apr 4, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Interesting, useful new reference.
Mar 29, 2013 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Minor update — Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel.
Mar 29, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel.
Mar 29, 2013 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor update — Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel.
Mar 29, 2013 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel.
Mar 29, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel.
Mar 29, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Minor update — Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel.
Mar 29, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel.
Mar 29, 2013 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Upgraded risk and safety information about Voltaren Gel.
Mar 1, 2013 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Modernized and expanded a bit, a couple new references, and a generally much better explanation of what fibromyalgia is.
Feb 20, 2013 — Does Fascia Matter? — Rewritten — A major editing job, particularly to include the much more specific idea that piezoelectricity accounts for releases.
Feb 19, 2013 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Edits and miscellaneous minor improvements. Added one red flag.
Feb 19, 2013 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section —
Feb 15, 2013 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section —
Feb 14, 2013 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Science update — Important good-science-news additions about the effects of stretching on heart rate regulation, and the effects of massage on anxiety and depression (it reduces them).
Feb 11, 2013 — Does Posture Matter? — Major new version — An all new article, really: almost nothing untouched.
Feb 4, 2013 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Product upgrade — Audiobook version now available.
Feb 4, 2013 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Product upgrade — Audiobook version now available. See the announcement for more information.
Jan 31, 2013 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor update — Several minor additions and edits.
Jan 26, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major update — All major professional treatment options now summarized.
Jan 26, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — New standard section I’m introducing to most of the tutorials to “manage expectations.” Too many readers assume there’s going to be a specific miracle treatment plan.
Jan 26, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major update — All major self-treatment options now summarized.
Jan 25, 2013 — The Insomnia Guide — Rewrote section, “How to fill those sleepless moments.” The section now deals with the likelihood that it is actually healthy and normal to be awake for a little bit in the middle of the night. A small thing, but the section pretty much had to be completely revised.
Jan 24, 2013 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Jan 19, 2013 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Edited — Nothing in particular has changed, but it’s definitely a better chapter now.
Jan 16, 2013 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — Improvement — Added an explanation of why it is probably a bad idea to use Epsom salts as a replacement for a tetanus shot after a dirty puncture wound.
Jan 12, 2013 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Jan 12, 2013 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Jan 11, 2013 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Improved — Expanded and edited. Reflexology and acupuncture added.
Jan 11, 2013 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — improved — A little more and better advice.
Dec 18, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New —
Dec 18, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — The writing was on the wall, but a new comprehensive review of knee lube jobs has confirmed that knee lube jobs are all washed. The section now reflects that.
Dec 17, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Dec 17, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section — Another psychologically oriented pain-busting tip.
Dec 17, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section — A new section for the only two nutraceuticals I consider worth trying for chronic pain.
Dec 17, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — More positive — I have stopped declaring that “all” nutraceuticals are bogus. There are some exceptions, discussed in the following tip.
Dec 14, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Some more evidence showing the role of smoking in chronic pain.
Dec 8, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — More positive — I feel better about frictions as a treatment than I used to, so I made this tip sound better.
Dec 7, 2012 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Turned around on creatine. That stuff seems to work as advertised.
Dec 7, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added references showing connections between smoking and chronic pain.
Dec 7, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added a funny sidebar about bad anatomy.
Dec 7, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — More detail in my personal story of truly structural foot problem.
Dec 7, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added (more) evidence showing the role of smoking in chronic back pain.
Dec 7, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Added some fun stuff and context about IT band anatomy.
Dec 6, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Dec 5, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Two new studies of the connection between knee pain and the inner thigh muscles, showing … modest correlations of dubious significance.
Nov 29, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Rewritten — Shifted the focus to elementary pain neurology and a more practical and specific implication: generating a “placebo” effect through education.
Nov 29, 2012 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Expanded — Added much more detailed self-help information for trigger points.
Nov 29, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Expanded — Added much more detailed self-help information for trigger points.
Nov 29, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Expanded — Added much more detailed self-help information for trigger points.
Nov 26, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Major upgrade — Rewritten, modernized, expanded.
Nov 24, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Some customizing of “brain wrangling” for plantar fasciitis.
Nov 24, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Some customizing of “brain wrangling” for patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Nov 20, 2012 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Science update — Weak but interesting new evidence on natural running and injury prevention.
Nov 20, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Weak but interesting new evidence on natural running and injury prevention.
Nov 20, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — Weak but interesting new evidence on natural running and injury prevention.
Nov 20, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — Weak but interesting new evidence on natural running and injury prevention.
Nov 16, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major update — Greatly expanded. Now offers a comprehensive summary of all treatment options: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Nov 16, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — New standard section I’m introducing to most of the tutorials to “manage expectations.” Too many readers assume there’s going to be a specific miracle treatment plan.
Nov 15, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — An important new section created as a direct response to reader demand.
Nov 13, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Medium update — Added a few paragraphs about foam rolling and trying to “elongate” the IT band.
Nov 13, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Science update — Added evidence from the first foam rolling research ever done.
Nov 10, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — New reference strongly supporting a key, controversial point.
Nov 9, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Rewritten — Bigger, better, more positive discussion of this option.
Nov 9, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — Numerous significant clarifications, revisions, and new references, and a generally stronger recommendation.
Nov 2, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added an intriguing quote about evolution and the lack of back pain in hunter gatherers.
Oct 28, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Major update — A “minor” science item really changed the tone of this section. The point is still the same — avoid heels — but now it’s a more interesting point.
Oct 28, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Science update — A minor but interesting new item about high heels.
Oct 28, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Put “foot fear” in context with some reassuring high heels science.
Oct 26, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Science update — Added a depressing but important citation showing that chronic pain probably shortens lifespan.
Oct 26, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added evidence that the stakes are high with chronic pain: it may even shorten lives.
Oct 26, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added evidence that the stakes are high with chronic pain: it may even shorten lives.
Oct 25, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — A minor case study and some science to help establish that muscle can indeed be the source of pain.
Oct 25, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Unimportant but interesting science update about the forces required for arch muscles to activate for support.
Oct 24, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section —
Oct 24, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added an item about “mobile” bumps that people often mistake for trigger points.
Oct 24, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — Added a key reference about the effectiveness of massage for back pain, with the (safe) assumption that it probably applies to neck pain as well.
Oct 24, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added a new suggestion for safe, pleasant self-tractioning.
Oct 24, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section —
Oct 23, 2012 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — A thorough, modernizing edit and general cleanup. A number of references added, a few tired and weaker ones removed.
Oct 18, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Rewritten — Now about four times more detailed than before and much more strongly focused on the positive, what my final recommendations are, and how to “put it all together.”
Oct 17, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section — New standard section I’m introducing to most of the tutorials to “manage expectations.” Too many readers assume there’s going to be a specific miracle treatment plan.
Oct 17, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Nice upgrade — After years of procrastination, I have finally created a video demonstration of a tricky ITBS stretch! About time!
Oct 17, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — New standard section I’m introducing to most of the tutorials to “manage expectations.” Too many readers assume there’s going to be a specific miracle treatment plan.
Oct 15, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Rewritten — Completely revised to reflect new science and new understanding of the interaction of ice with “inflammation.”
Oct 12, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New science — Same content, more science support.
Oct 10, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section —
Oct 7, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — References pretty much completely renovated and upgraded — and generally good news for once.
Oct 7, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section —
Oct 6, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Like new — Major upgrade, with a much more detailed introduction to this part of the book, and long and useful list of summarized treatment options.
Oct 5, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Slightly expanded and clarified. Added a note about feeling a thickened plantar fasciitis with your fingers.
Oct 5, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Several minor clarifications and improvements.
Sep 29, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section —
Sep 29, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section —
Sep 28, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section —
Sep 25, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section —
Sep 25, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Edited — Revision in preparation for audiobook production, with a focus on modernizing information about trigger points.
Sep 25, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Edited — Revision in preparation for audiobook production, with a focus on modernizing information about trigger points.
Sep 18, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Rewritten — Merged information on arches and pronation, rewrote for clarity, and added a couple nice new supporting quotes.
Sep 18, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Edited — Longer and clearer than before. In particular, I came up with a much better way of explaining the fragility of “bony” spurs.
Aug 30, 2012 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor update — Added some acknowledgement that fascia contractility may still have some slow-motion “power” even if it is quite weak. I’ll probably expand on this soon.
Aug 30, 2012 — Does Fascia Matter? — Minor update — Added a very useful link to FasciaResearch.de.
Aug 27, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Edited — Now more accurate and clearer. Edits in preparation for audiobook version.
Aug 7, 2012 — Does Epsom Salt Work? — New section — Reported on evidence against the absorption of Epsom salt.
Aug 4, 2012 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Minor update regarding DOMS.
Jul 31, 2012 — Does Fascia Matter? — New section —
Jul 25, 2012 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — A new item at the end of the myths section: “fascia matters.” And improved information about detoxification myths.
Jul 25, 2012 — Does Fascia Matter? — Major update — Article launched as a compilation of about four previous articles on this topic, with revisions and some new information.
Jul 23, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major update — New evidence that massage can cause “rhabdomyolysis” makes it quite a lot easier to understand a lot of negative reactions to trigger point therapy. This is valuable perspective, and the section has been heavily revised to exploit it.
Jul 4, 2012 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — Added valuable new reference to Telfer et al.
Jul 4, 2012 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — More on “tightness matters”: interesting evidence that massage therapists cannot reliably find the side of pain by feel.
Jul 4, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update — Added good new evidence that customization of orthotics isn’t very accurate.
Jul 4, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Science update — A new study shows that massage therapists cannot reliably find the side of pain by feel — good evidence that no gross spasm (or other structural factor) is usually involved.
Jul 4, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Interesting evidence that massage therapists cannot reliably find the side of pain by feel.
Jul 3, 2012 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Added a small concluding section — didn’t really know where else to put it! “Sort of an afterword: RSI and trauma, sittin’ in a tree.”
Jun 30, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New diagram — Nice new diagram, “Key locations for massage treatment of ITBS.”
Jun 29, 2012 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Minor update … but an important integrity check. Oberbaum et al is one of only a handful of better trials of homeopathy with positive results, and the only one I know of with no obvious flaws. I added some analysis of this important example paper. Also: added a “warning” to casual readers about which science sections they can skip over. Some places in the article have gotten pretty dense. 😃
Jun 9, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — This introduction now does a better (and more honest) job of mentioning some trigger point controversies, and links to an important companion article about them, for keener readers, Trigger Point Doubts.
Jun 7, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added a fine example of taking yoga very, very seriously as an option. See first footnote in section.
May 18, 2012 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Major update. Detailed analysis of claims and citations on a manufacturer’s website I restored exploration of research into arnica in ointment form, with new references. There is now generally much more information about these creams as “hybrid” products, both homeopathic and herbal. Many sections were expanded and clarified. New editorial images.
May 14, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Another nice swimming update: I added some excellent perspective from an experienced competitive swimmer.
May 11, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section — Inspired by something surprising that I learned writing the new surgery section, this is a brief description of another major possible explanation for persistent symptoms.
May 10, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section — Substantive new section of about 1400 words, with several footnotes and new references.
May 9, 2012 — Pain is Weird — Science update — Added references to and quotes from Atul Gawande’s excellent article, Scratching an itch through the scalp to the brain.
May 5, 2012 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — More expert opinion — Added a particularly strong anti-steroids opinion to the section.
May 4, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Very simple swimming tip added. Hat tip to reader Eric C.
May 4, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Very simple swimming tip added. Hat tip to reader Eric C.
May 2, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — A minor but good: clearer, better language. Editing continues as I work on the audiobook version.
Apr 27, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Update — Editing, and several new paragraphs about safety issues.
Apr 27, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Some simple revision for clarity and quality, and a bit more content.
Apr 25, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — More editing for clarity and thoroughness. This also happens to be one of the first edits I’m doing to prepare for audiobook production.
Apr 4, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science — More science, and a few substantial new footnotes fielding common concerns and questions.
Mar 30, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section —
Mar 28, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — I revised the warning away from hydration, and included some fun new myth-busting evidence about hydration and cramping.
Mar 27, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — General improvements — The whole document got some love today, in the form of widespread editing and clarifications. There’s definitely more polish here.
Mar 23, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Mar 23, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Mar 23, 2012 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
Mar 22, 2012 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added a new massage myth that “tightness matters,” with an interesting footnote about palpatory pareidolia.
Mar 21, 2012 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added evidence that lumbar curvature doesn’t matter.
Mar 21, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Clarified information about pelvic tilt, and beefed it up with some more science.
Mar 16, 2012 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a reference to a new Protandim study, only the second ever in humans … and it’s irrelevant and negative.
Mar 13, 2012 — Are Orthotics Worth It? — General editing and significant expansion.
Mar 12, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — Rewritten and expanded, much clearer and more detailed. Not much new science, though — ITBS+orthotics science is pretty scarce!
Mar 9, 2012 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Beefed up my explanation of how massage can be psychologically and emotionally important. See “Personal growth: a massage benefit that may be impossible to define or measure.”
Mar 8, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section —
Mar 8, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added an item about non-pain symptoms, like itching.
Mar 8, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Updated — Answered some common reader concerns about planning.
Mar 8, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Added some creative problem-solving for hot climates.
Mar 8, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Added a paragraph about elliptical machines.
Mar 8, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Added an example of surgery gone wrong.
Mar 8, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section —
Mar 7, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Important new, skeptical footnote about the dangers of the powerful narcotic drugs.
Mar 7, 2012 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Important new, skeptical footnote about the dangers of the powerful narcotic drugs.
Feb 27, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Revised — Some modernization and clarifications. Now also discusses the notion of “just rubbing” the hot spot.
Feb 23, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Updated — Bone scans and the reason for getting them are now described much more thoroughly. Added some new science confirming that many PFPS knees are “hot.”
Feb 23, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major update — Expanded and heavily edited. In particular, the concept of a “diagnosis of exclusion” is now explained thoroughly.
Feb 18, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Rewritten — Another “like new” rewrite: this section now offers much more detailed resting advice, perspective, and troubleshooting.
Feb 16, 2012 — Contrast Hydrotherapy — Major revision and upgrade. Almost everything improved.
Feb 16, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Rewritten — This section is “like new” and much beefier, and links to an upgraded main contrasting article as well.
Feb 8, 2012 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added references to the widely reported Crane et al study showing that massage supposedly “reduces inflammation.” It does not.
Jan 23, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Rewritten — Major changes: new science, new recommendations, more detail, and some explanation of the (very difficult) problem of why anti-inflammatory injections might work despite the fact that IT band syndrome doesn’t involve much inflammation.
Jan 16, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Rewritten — Completely revised to reflect new science and new understanding of the interaction of ice with “inflammation.”
Jan 16, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Rewritten — Completely revised to reflect new science and new understanding of the interaction of NSAIDs with “inflammation.”
Jan 13, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major Update — Expanded and revised summary of treatment options, with emphasis on new and better recommendations about “anti-inflammatory” treatments.
Jan 12, 2012 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Major updates to the inflammation section. Virtually re-written to emphasize that inflammation is certainly not present in the sense of classic inflammation, but may nevertheless have a little biochemistry in common with it. If allegedly “anti-inflammatory” treatments work, it is probably mainly by different mechanisms, and this is now thoroughly explained, with detailed notes on every major common treatment.
Jan 12, 2012 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Modest expansion (again). And the sassy new “muscle stabbing” section name. —
Jan 11, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Updated — Advice on “running through” has changed, with more emphasis on the unknown but plausible risk of permanent damage.
Jan 11, 2012 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major revision — Extensive editing and re-writing concerning the nature of inflammation. The main point of the section remains unchanged, but the section now does a much better job of explaining why ITBS isn’t really inflamed, and why it matters. Although not cited, this update drew heavily on some new scientific papers.
Dec 30, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section —
Dec 29, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Updated — Added new information and some pie charts about the success rate of arthroscopic surgery for ITBS.
Dec 21, 2011 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added a list of “awkward questions” to demonstrate how hard it is to study what you can’t define. Also a few tweaks of related content.
Dec 21, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — Added an interesting citation about the correlation (or lack thereof) between tissue hardness and sensitivity.
Dec 21, 2011 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Added some more detail to exercise description, and a whimsical ankle coordination challenge.
Dec 16, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — More evidence of the exercise effects are limited and non-specific. See the paragraph starting “Does spinal function improve … ”
Dec 14, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Trivial update — Added minor but odd note about “sensory annoyances” and hats. Yes, hats.
Dec 14, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Added a minor but odd note about “sensory annoyances” like hats and collars.
Dec 13, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor update — Addressed some common fears about the threat of getting out of shape while resting.
Dec 13, 2011 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Addressed some common fears about the threat of getting out of shape while resting.
Dec 13, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — Not a beefy update: just a few quick thoughts about heat.
Dec 13, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Addressed some common fears about the threat of getting out of shape while resting.
Dec 13, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Addressed some common fears about the threat of getting out of shape while resting.
Dec 10, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section —
Dec 1, 2011 — A Stretching Experiment — Added audio edition of the article.
Dec 1, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Added some unusual research about the risks heavy metal “head-banging” — a fun example, for perspective.
Dec 1, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — More content — Added scientific cases studies, examples, pictures and video of true dislocation and abnormal anatomy to help drive home the point that even significant spinal joint dysfunction can be surprisingly harmless … never mind subtle joint problems.
Dec 1, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Updated — Added scientific cases studies, examples, pictures and video of true dislocation and abnormal anatomy to help drive home the point that even significant spinal joint dysfunction can be surprisingly harmless … never mind subtle joint problems.
Nov 25, 2011 — Pain is Weird — Added content — Added Lorimer Moseley’s superb TED talk about pain, Why Things Hurt 14:33, and a couple of good quotes from it.
Nov 25, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Minor, but fun — a great quote about models of slipped discs, and a good new image to help it along.
Nov 23, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Rewritten — Improved and expanded. In particular, intramuscular stimulation (IMS) was “demoted.” I am disillusioned with it and no longer want to promote it without strong caveats.
Nov 23, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — Clearer and more thorough content throughout several sections about the “Nature of the Beast” and “Diagnosis,” especially from the discussion of root causes and onwards. I am producing the audio version of this tutorial, and I am revising and improving content significantly as I go. Information about trigger points was completely re-written, and there’s a whole new section about hip and thigh pain.
Nov 16, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Updated — Modernization and revision for clarity.
Nov 16, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — Stretching is such a hot topic that I decided to break the discussion up with a new section focused on stretching the IT band itself. It was inspired by important new scientific evidence: researchers have found that IT band stretching is not a very moving experience …
Nov 15, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — Significant modernization and clarifications. Much better description of why this kind of stretch might be worth trying.
Nov 15, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New science — Added more anatomical evidence that the IT band is particularly impossible to stretch or even move.
Nov 11, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Products added — Three new product reviews, and some miscellaneous revision of the section.
Nov 10, 2011 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added collagen, and some comments about bioavailability.
Nov 10, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section —
Nov 10, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Clarifications about the location of IT band syndrome pain.
Nov 7, 2011 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — For balance, cited rebuttals to Lederman in Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies: see Chaitow.
Nov 4, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor science update — Cited a study about yoga and stretching for back pain.
Nov 3, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major science update — Detailed reporting on some new yoga science. Significant re-writing of the section ensued. Sometimes new science does not back up my preconceptions: I’ve changed my tune here somewhat.
Nov 2, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Update — Rewritten and expanded with important evidence about how stretching does not prevent strain injuries.
Nov 2, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Updated — Added new research evidence that stretching doesn’t prevent injuries, including (of course) ITBS.
Nov 1, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added a couple great points/quotes from doctors about overuse of MRI, as reported by Gina Kolata for the New York Times.
Oct 28, 2011 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — A couple more references for arginine and glutamine. Also: improvements to layout of main supplements table.
Oct 28, 2011 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added reference to a new article explaining common statistical errors that particularly afflict massage therapy research. Thoroughly revised the section, “The trouble with studying massage,” right near the top of the article.
Oct 21, 2011 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Extensive upgrades and expansion of information about glutamine and arginine.
Oct 16, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Updated — Added new references to fascia science about the toughness and contractility of fascia, and some interpretation. This is also supported by a substantial new free article, Does Fascia Matter?.
Oct 16, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Updated — Added new references to fascia science, regarding the alleged relevance of fascial contractility to compartment syndrome. This is also supported by a substantial new free article, Does Fascia Matter?.
Oct 14, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New video — Section now includes a new video, summarizing myths and treatment mistakes.
Oct 11, 2011 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added reference information about Protandim, and “bottle of hope” image.
Oct 4, 2011 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added reference to new research showing that massage therapy probably helps bone cancer pain.
Sep 28, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor update — Added reference to Kong et al, about the effect of shoe wear.
Sep 28, 2011 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Added reference to Kong et al, about the effect of shoe wear.
Sep 28, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Added reference to Kong et al, about the effect of shoe wear.
Sep 28, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Added reference to Kong et al, about the effect of shoe wear.
Sep 15, 2011 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added more evidence of underwhelming benefit to chondroitin sulfate.
Aug 26, 2011 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added “safety” column and data to main chart.
Aug 26, 2011 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added more information about the connection between nutraceuticals multi-level marketing.
Aug 26, 2011 — A Stretching Experiment — Numerous edits and minor additions based on initial wave of public responses to the article.
Aug 26, 2011 — Pain is Weird — Added content — Added dramatic case study of pain without injury: the man with the nail in his boot.
Aug 26, 2011 — Mind Over Pain — Added content — Added dramatic case study of pain without injury: the man with the nail in his boot.
Aug 26, 2011 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — New section: “Personal growth: a massage benefit that may be impossible to define or measure.”
Aug 26, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section —
Aug 26, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added very basic information about magnesium.
Aug 26, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section —
Aug 26, 2011 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section. — Now cautiously endorsing Oesh shoes.
Aug 26, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section — This section is a summary of an important concept that’s been available in a free article since late 2008, but also needed to be emphasized here. Now it is.
Aug 26, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New science — I stumbled across a fantastic scientific paper about the prevalence of nerve pinches (hint: it’s low). Excellent perspective.
Aug 26, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — A key concept covered in the trigger points tutorial long ago, but so relevant to low back pain that I decided it needed to be here as well.
Aug 26, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — This section is a summary of an important concept that’s been available in a free article since late 2008, but it really needed to be emphasized here.
Aug 22, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Update — Now cautiously endorsing Oesh shoes.
Aug 22, 2011 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Added a reference about high heels and knee pain.
Aug 22, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — Expanded the section so much that it’s effectively new. It was just a single paragraph about orthotics. Now it is a much more thorough discussion of orthotics, shoes, and impact reduction.
Aug 12, 2011 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added an important new reference about “structural” massage for low back pain.
Aug 12, 2011 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Updated several references, and added an important new one about massage for low back pain, which also spawned an entire new section about the failure of supposedly “advanced” massage techniques.
Aug 12, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — A few new paragraphs summarizing an important new study of massage for low back pain with disappointing results.
Jul 29, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Added a reference about the poor overall quality of online information about common injuries. See Starman.
Jul 29, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Added a reference about the poor overall quality of online information about common injuries. See Starman et al.
Jul 29, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added a reference about the poor overall quality of online information about common injuries. See Starman et al.
Jul 29, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Added a reference about the poor overall quality of online information about common injuries. See Starman.
Jul 15, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Added a fun thing — I can’t believe I didn’t know about inflatable neck extenders until now!
Jul 14, 2011 — The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) — Added numerous footnotes. Added a new section, “A long, fragile chain of reasoning.”
Jul 14, 2011 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added an amusing video about massage.
Jul 14, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Minor update — Added a (very) funny clip from the TV show Glee.
Jul 13, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — Some new thoughts about how stretching for trigger points might work — quite different from the mainstream theory — inspired some new stretching science.
Jul 13, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major rewrite — This might as well be a new section — not only did I re-write it, I gave it a completely new purpose. Previously the “bamboo cage” was a minor metaphor used to illustrate a possible mechanism for sensitization of muscle tissue. Now it is the basis of an extended and (I think) interesting exploration of how the concept of trigger points might actually be debunked. Pretty weighty stuff, but delivered with a major effort to make it interesting to any reader. Hope you enjoy it!
Jul 13, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section — More information about an important characteristic of muscle-dominated neck pain.
Jul 13, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — More information about an important characteristic of muscle-dominated back pain.
Jul 12, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added an interesting observation about how Vitamin D supplementation might work.
Jul 12, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Miscellaneous editing and improvements, plus a couple new items.
Jul 12, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Major update — Totally renovated section: re-written, reformatted, expanded, upgraded. A few new checklist items were added, most were expanded, and all were clarified. A separate and handier “quick” checklist was added to the existing “slow” checklist.
Jul 12, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major update — Totally renovated section: re-written, reformatted, expanded, upgraded. A few new checklist items were added, most were expanded, and all were clarified. A separate and handier “quick” checklist was added to the existing “slow” checklist.
Jul 9, 2011 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added information about Functional Movement Screening, based on Schneiders et al.
Jul 8, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Added an item about swimming to the “activities that may strain the knee” chart.
Jun 24, 2011 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Temporarily removed a section summarizing research based on the idea that Homeopathic arnica in ointment form has never been studied, because I found a handful of studies. Eventually I will add an analysis of those studies to the article.
Jun 23, 2011 — Pain is Weird — Science update — Added interesting little item about how even microscopic organisms have complex pain experiences that vary with the circumstances.
Jun 21, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Major update — Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers. Care for more detail? Really? Here’s the full announcement.
Jun 21, 2011 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Major update — Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers.
Jun 21, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major update — Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers. Care for more detail? Really? Here’s the full announcement.
Jun 21, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Major update — Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers. Care for more detail? Really? Here’s the full announcement.
Jun 21, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Major update — Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers. Care for more detail? Really? Here’s the full announcement.
Jun 19, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major update — Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers. Care for more detail? Really? Here’s the full announcement.
Jun 17, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — Another substantial addition to the tutorial, the third in recent history.
Jun 17, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Rewritten — Evidence about the real but surprisingly weak connection between impact forces and injury from Zadpoor et al has prompted a bunch of revision and new recommendations for runners.
Jun 15, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers. Care for more detail? Really? Here’s the full announcement.
Jun 8, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New artwork — Added a nice new diagram of strain severity.
Jun 6, 2011 — Contrast Hydrotherapy — Added section, “The thermal workout.”
Jun 3, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Upgraded — Added important phrasing about prioritizing rest over worries about maintaining fitness.
Jun 1, 2011 — Pain is Weird — New section — Substantial new example, providing a great example from life: eye pain rather obviously amped up by worry.
May 30, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added some basic information about the damage that “ugly pain” can actually do, inspired by a recent anecdote received from a reader.
May 28, 2011 — Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added Protandim. Plus new section, “But it worked for me!” Includes a link to a terrific video: The Strange Powers of the Placebo Effect 2:57
May 19, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section — After studying and reviewing the science and safety of Vitamin D supplementation, I’m finally ready to start recommending it to my readers.
May 11, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor Update — Added evidence that spinal fusion surgeries are not just ineffective but often harmful (Nguyen).
May 11, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added a fascinating science item about the effect of anti-inflammatory gels on back pain (Huang).
May 11, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor Update — Long overdue, I finally added some science to this section, showing that the connection between low back pain and obesity is weaker than it seems (Wright).
May 7, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Science update — The Vitamin D advice provided to readers has not changed, but the science supporting it has been dramatically beefed up — more science, new science, better summarized — to confirm that D supplementation is a safe and sensible option for patients. See also the separate article, Vitamin D for Pain.
May 5, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor Update — Added some interesting references about sensation (Luomajoki) and the relationship between back pain and a disrupted “body schema” (Bray).
May 4, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
May 4, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section —
May 4, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Rewritten — Total revision to strongly emphasize the stakes and the key idea that resting actually requires a lot of good planning.
May 4, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Updated — Added the concept of a “thermal workout.”
May 4, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Rewritten — Completely revised to emphasize the best and least advertised benefits of strength training.
May 4, 2011 — The Insomnia Guide — Added a small but imortant point about the trouble with hot baths.
May 3, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — Another beefy new section for this tutorial, the second addition lately.
Apr 28, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section — “Weak hips” is a weak theory! But the hype grows and grows, and must be stopped.
Apr 28, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Updated — Added an important link.
Apr 28, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — New section — The idea of “perfect spots” is worthy of its own tip. Read to find out why.
Apr 28, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Major update — Several minor repairs, two new tips, and a re-write of the icing section.
Apr 28, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section —
Apr 27, 2011 — Pain & Injury Survival Tips — Major update — Complete re-write! So thoroughly upgraded it’s like a new article. Modernization of all tips, purging of some that were too old school, and several new ones. This is now a main site page and all future updates will be logged. Several more improvements on the way.
Apr 21, 2011 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added much more detail to the example of my own deformed foot.
Apr 20, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major update — Major improvements to the table of contents, and the display of information about updates like this one. Sections now have numbers for easier reference and bookmarking. The structure of the document has really been cleaned up in general, making it significantly easier for me to update the tutorial — which will translate into more good content for readers. Care for more detail? Really? Here’s the full announcement.
Apr 17, 2011 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Some revision to the introduction to make it more readable and interesting.
Apr 17, 2011 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Corrected some minor technical errors.
Apr 16, 2011 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Added some clarification about the position of symptoms of cauda equina syndrome, and a personal footnote related to that scary scenario.
Apr 10, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Edited to distinguish more clearly between “dependence” and “addiction,” to reduce alarmism about addiction or contributing to the excessive stigma against opioids. (Thanks to reader Evelyn D. for pointing out the issue to me — a good example of how readers contribute to the improvement of this tutorial.)
Mar 22, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Updated the disclaimer (sidebar) about my “conflict of interest.” I no longer have it, since I am retired from my massage therapy practice.
Mar 20, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — Finally, long overdue, a new section on this topic (for all the running injury tutorials).
Mar 20, 2011 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section — Finally, long overdue, a new section on this topic (for all the running injury tutorials, in fact).
Mar 20, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — Finally, long overdue, a new section on this topic (for all the running injury tutorials, in fact).
Mar 12, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section —
Feb 20, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — Finally, long overdue, a new section on this topic.
Feb 17, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Upgraded — New artwork from PainScience.com artist Gary Lyons, plus some important new references.
Feb 17, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Upgraded — New artwork from PainScience.com artist Gary Lyons, plus some important new references.
Feb 17, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor Update — Added a fun and informative quote from the TV show House.
Feb 8, 2011 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Important new info — Where’s the fire? Recently I published a major new article about repetitive strain injuries, in which I explain that these injuries are rarely actually inflamed. Instead of being “on fire,” excessively stressed tissues tend to break down without inflammation — a kind of rot. For the full scoop on inflammation and repetitive strain injuries, see: Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial: Five surprising and important facts about repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, or iliotibial band syndrome.
Feb 8, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Important new info — Where’s the fire? Recently I published a major new article about repetitive strain injuries, in which I explain that these injuries are rarely actually inflamed. Instead of being “on fire,” excessively stressed tissues tend to break down without inflammation — a kind of rot. For the full scoop on inflammation and repetitive strain injuries, see: Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial: Five surprising and important facts about repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, or iliotibial band syndrome.
Feb 8, 2011 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Important new info — Where’s the fire? Recently I published a major new article about repetitive strain injuries, in which I explain that these injuries are rarely actually inflamed. Instead of being “on fire,” excessively stressed tissues tend to break down without inflammation — a kind of rot. For the full scoop on inflammation and repetitive strain injuries, see: Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial: Five surprising and important facts about repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, or iliotibial band syndrome.
Feb 4, 2011 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Improvements to the RSI reading guide.
Feb 3, 2011 — Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Numerous minor corrections and improvements in readability, and a couple more images.
Feb 3, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added evidence showing that trigger point therapy improved ankle range of motion.
Feb 3, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added a checklist item about muscle wasting.
Jan 18, 2011 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Added reference concerned genetic causes of chronic nerve pain.
Jan 18, 2011 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — A few more references added.
Jan 18, 2011 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Added a reference to a large, interesting study that showed that custom orthotics failed to reduce injury rates in marines.
Jan 18, 2011 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section — Some useful new information about how to estimate healing time more accurately.
Jan 12, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Updated — Added some new evidence about back pain and aging, and a nice new graph.
Jan 7, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Just added a link, but a really great link! The CBC show Marketplace did an amazing job last year reporting on spinal decompression machines. Well worth a look — the show and their show page is probably now the single best source of information on this topic.
Jan 7, 2011 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Some editorial cleanup on core strengthening, and I a link to a good summary of recent research.
Dec 30, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major update — Previously this section discussed ultrasound rather generally, without much discussion of the science; it is now beefed up with a thorough, fun discussion of the somewhat squishy evidence.
Dec 30, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added an interesting footnote about the Google Book Ngram for “trigger points.”
Dec 29, 2010 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Added information debunking bed rest as a treatment option.
Dec 29, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Like new — Re-written and significantly expanded.
Dec 29, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section —
Dec 28, 2010 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — A correction: Australian League Football is not “soccer.” Thanks to Nick A. for the heads up on that. And some clarification of the evidence concerning muscle asymmetries and injury rates in players.
Dec 2, 2010 — Mind Over Pain — New section —
Dec 2, 2010 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor upgrade — Upgrade to the description of popliteal artery entrapment syndrome (PAES), which is often confused with compartment syndromes.
Dec 2, 2010 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor upgrade — Repaired an alarmingly large batch of typographic errors. Amazing what slips through!
Dec 2, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — New short section for both this book and the iliotibial band syndrome book covering potentially confusing alternative diagnoses, such as popliteal artery entrapment syndrome (PAES).
Dec 2, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — New short section for both this book and the patellofemoral pain book covering potentially confusing alternative diagnoses, such as politeal artery entrapment syndrome (PAES).
Dec 1, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Many minor repairs — A large batch of minor errors and glitches were corrected today, thanks to the sharp eyes of readers Effie and Doris.
Nov 25, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Modest expansion —
Oct 6, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — Not just for customers: this particular section is a short version of a new free article.
Oct 6, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Updated — Updated with an important story about a disastrous example of neck stretching that backfired. Not just for customers: this particular section is a short version of a new free article.
Oct 5, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Some good new science cited in the introduction, about the overall effectiveness of manual therapies. See D’Sylva et al.
Oct 5, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section — Another new section and yet more good new evidence about prevention.
Oct 1, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Major Update — Rewriting and expansion of the Special Supplement on spinal manipulative therapy.
Oct 1, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major Update — Rewriting and expansion of the Special Supplement on spinal manipulative therapy.
Sep 30, 2010 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Improved — Beefed up with better explanations and science about how plantar fasciitis involves more “degeneration” of your foot than inflammation.
Sep 29, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Added some data on the incidence of PFPS in cyclists.
Sep 29, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Update — New science confirms that helmets do not cause neck injuries — they just keep your head safe. However, minor injury remains likely and problematic.
Sep 23, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major update — Numerous repairs and upgrades, some new charts, and a colorful anecdote about drinking blood (seriously). Thanks to several readers, and especially Elaine M., for their assistance with this.
Sep 21, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Updated — Added a much more detailed description of the Hancock et al study, and in fact turned it into the main substance of this section.
Sep 20, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Many new sections — An important new part of the book about nutritional and other biology and pathological factors that may be involved in MPS.
Sep 16, 2010 — The Insomnia Guide — Added this quote: “Sleep isn’t an escape, it’s an act of rest.” (McKeen)
Sep 15, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — Happy to add a whole small new section about evidence of the efficacy of trigger point therapy.
Sep 15, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — I’ve done a bunch of work to continue integrating Dr. Taylor’s new chapter into the book: discussing perpetuating factors wherever they are relevant, and linking to the chapter. Thus there are many more spots in the book now where the importance and relevance of Dr. Taylor’s contribution is emphasized.
Sep 15, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section — New section based on solid new evidence about prevention.
Sep 15, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Updated — Added a very beefy footnote about some new research showing that muscle imbalance does not result in higher rates of injury. This almost should have been a new section, but I decided to just make it a ginormous footnote — footnotes are there for delving if you want to, that’s the idea! You can read a summary of the research in the bibliography (see Hides et al), but the relevance to back pain is spelled out in detail here. And it’s interesting.
Sep 15, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Overhauled — Rewrote section to accommodate some new science. The new evidence is interesting, but not particularly illuminating: it mostly just emphasizes how we really (still) don’t know if IT band tightness is actually a problem.
Aug 25, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Upgraded — Section now includes discussion of that bizarre and already infamous paper in the New England Journal of Medicine (see Berman). I also make an important new point: exactly why acupuncture placebos are such a problem for low back pain patients in particular.
Aug 24, 2010 — Pain is Weird — Science update — Added references to an excellent paper and a key source for this article by Moseley.
Aug 23, 2010 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added some thoughts about the prevalence of structuralism, inspired by a Facebook discussion with some colleagues.
Aug 9, 2010 — The Insomnia Guide — Added two interesting references and the XKCD comic strip about sleep deprivation.
Aug 7, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Like new — Rewritten. I’ve lost track and can’t be bothered to go back into the archives to figure it out for sure, but I think that this section was brand new (but never announced) late in 2009, and then this past week I gave it a substantial upgrade: it is now one of the best-referenced chapters in the book, and it says as much as probably needs to be said on the subject — or more!
Aug 6, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New cover — At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
Aug 6, 2010 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New cover — At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
Aug 6, 2010 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New cover — At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
Aug 6, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New cover — At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
Aug 6, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New cover — At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
Aug 6, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New cover — At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
Aug 6, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New cover — At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
Aug 6, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New cover — At last! E-book finally has a “cover.”
Jul 27, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section —
Jul 27, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update — Updated the nutraceuticals item with information about a new study of glucosamine for knee pain.
Jul 20, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Corrected — Fixed some wrong science about hydrogen bonding and tissue adhesions. Hat tip to reader and chemist K.D. for the good catch.
Jul 16, 2010 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Expanded — Added a substantial chunk of content about a promising experimental treatment protocol. Unproven but interesting.
Jul 8, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major improvements — Substantial changes related to new science summarized in Am I wrong? An update on the conventional wisdom.
Jul 8, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major improvements — Substantial changes related to new science summarized in Am I wrong? An update on the conventional wisdom.
Jul 8, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major improvements — Substantial changes related to new science summarized in Am I wrong? An update on the conventional wisdom.
Jul 8, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section — A flurry of substantive updates and re-writing today inspired by some new scientific papers.
Jul 7, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Updated the muscle relaxant section with a summary of a bizarre experiment with muscle relaxants that had quite surprising results.
Jun 29, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section —
Jun 25, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Added a nice anecdote from a doctor about a trigger point that was almost mistaken for a possible tumor.
Jun 14, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section —
Jun 5, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added a scientific thumbs down for transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS).
Jun 5, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — A surprising scientific thumbs up for comfrey ointment was worth a whole new small section.
May 26, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — This is a major upgrade to the presentation of PainScience.com’s own Perfect Spots series of articles. They have always been here, but perhaps not presented in as useful a way as they could have been. I’ve also made many upgrades to the articles themselves over the last 2 months.
May 26, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — Reviews and recommendations of other sources.
May 25, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major update — A weakness of this tutorial has finally been eliminated: reference material! Where are the trigger points? Although this is still not an encyclopedia of trigger points, and it never will be (by design), the book now helps readers find specific trigger point information in three new ways, in three new sections.
May 24, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Update with another recent study showing that strength training doesn’t work.
May 17, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Many minor repairs — No specific update today, but a particularly large dose of editing love, with my thanks to reader Elaine M. for pointing out several errors that got me started. Elaine received some free product for her assistance, of course, and so can you if you send me any more than a few error reports.
May 11, 2010 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — An extensive edit for humour, charm and accuracy. Several references were upgraded, Diane Jacobs’ wonderfully sassy definition of structuralism was added to the introduction, and Dr. Eyal Lederman’s brilliant essay is now prominently recommended: “The fall of the postural–structural–biomechanical model in manual and physical therapies: Exemplified by lower back pain”.
Apr 20, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Major update — Completely overhauled and substantially expanded, and polished several relevant bibliographic records.
Apr 20, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Rewritten — Completely overhauled and substantially expanded, and polished several relevant bibliographic records.
Apr 17, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — Improved description of physiatrists (a medical speciality).
Apr 13, 2010 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Added endorsement from Dr. Harriet Hall.
Apr 9, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — New section —
Apr 7, 2010 — Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Added quite a few thoughts about how professionals are able to overlook obvious observations that contradict their beliefs about structuralism.
Apr 7, 2010 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor update — Added results of a study of surgery for stress fractures in elite dancers.
Apr 6, 2010 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Some updates to the recently added section, More about lactic acid and detoxication, especially concerning evidence that lactic acid is not responsible for muscle pain and fatigue.
Apr 3, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section — Finally, I’ve added a (free) appendix of online resources related to trigger point therapy. Better late than never.
Apr 2, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Miscellaneous upgrades, and a nice anecdote from a reader about a “boot cure.”
Apr 2, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor update — Added thoughts about the effect of elliptical machines on PFPS and some other minor updates.
Mar 27, 2010 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added a nice quote from Hall.
Mar 26, 2010 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — New section based on fascinating new scientific evidence, More about lactic acid and detoxification.
Mar 22, 2010 — Tennis Elbow Guide — Corrected some typographic errors.
Mar 18, 2010 — Contrast Hydrotherapy — Added some contrasting science.
Feb 25, 2010 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Editing to make the article shorter, more readable. Move a lot of optional information into footnotes. Added and clarified of a few citations.
Feb 23, 2010 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Major revision, with focus on adding evidence about the effectiveness of massage therapy for back pain, updating numerous citations, and better explanations of how massage research works (or doesn’t).
Feb 13, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Tiny update — Tiny-but-interesting: I added some pretty good evidence that a muscle relaxant was no better for injured neck muscles than ibuprofen.
Feb 13, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update — Added clear evidence that family doctors don’t do a good job caring for patients with low back pain, and that a myth-busting ebook like this is still important.
Feb 12, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — One of several new/revised sections based on the implications of a new surgical technique (see Michels et al).
Feb 12, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — One of several new/revised sections based on the implications of a new surgical technique (see Michels et al).
Feb 12, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section — One of several new/revised sections based on the implications of a new surgical technique (see Michels et al).
Feb 12, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — One of several new/revised sections based on the implications of a new surgical technique (see Michels et al).
Feb 12, 2010 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Major update — One of several new/revised sections based on the implications of a new surgical technique (see Michels et al).
Jan 30, 2010 — Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain? — Complete re-write and major expansion.
Jan 23, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major upgrade — Rewritten and significantly expanded information about medications.
Jan 23, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section —
Jan 23, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — An important update: a major new section that goes a long way to substantiating one of the most important points of this tutorial.
Jan 23, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Major upgrade — Rewritten and significantly expanded information about medications.
Jan 22, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — Having debunked expensive spinal traction using expensive decompression machines, here are some ideas for cheaper and safer methods of tractioning.
Jan 21, 2010 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section —
Jan 19, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section —
Jan 19, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — A little revision, slight expansion.
Jan 12, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major update — Section heavily revised, improved, and expanded.
Jan 12, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Major update — Section heavily revised, improved, and expanded.
Jan 7, 2010 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update — A small but significant update on nutrition, based on Bischoff-Ferrari et al, which basically boils down to a recommendation to take vitamin D — it might help.
Dec 31, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Minor update: just added a couple of references, Calandre et al and Fernández-de-Las-Peñas et al, to substantiate the relationship between migraines and trigger points.
Dec 31, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Minor update — Shored up substantiation of the relationship between migraines and trigger points.
Dec 30, 2009 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor Update — Some new comments on Graston Technique in response to a reader’s questions.
Dec 30, 2009 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor update — Added an answer to a reader question, “Are soft night splints good enough?”
Dec 30, 2009 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New section —
Dec 22, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — A substantial new section makes the case for self-treatment: Fundamental limitations of trigger point therapy, and how to take advantage of them
Dec 17, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Two massage sections significantly revised and expanded: IT band massage, foam rollers, and Graston Technique® and Trigger point therapy for ITBS.
Dec 16, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — New section — First new section since the huge update in the fall, a short-but-useful section.
Nov 30, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Another new section, practically on top of the last one, Ultrasound is not a strong option, along with a substantial new article offering more detail about ultrasound in general, Does Ultrasound Therapy Work?. I put a considerable amount of research into this topic, and so there are also 34 new records in the bibliography for ultrasound.
Nov 27, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Updated the tutorial this morning with a new section, “Should you get a lube job? Artificial synovial fluid injections.
Nov 25, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Upgraded the quality of the writing in an important section, Trigger point diagnosis is not reliable … but it may not matter that much.
Nov 25, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section — Today I found a way to say some simple things about the power of self-treatment that have been “on the tip of my tongue” for years now. It all evolved from writing about an important bit of research, showing that manual therapists cannot (reliably) diagnose trigger points.
Nov 24, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — A little extra scientific evidence to make the point “Your back is NOT FRAGILE!” This new study from the Lancet puts the nail in the coffin of the MRI myth: it’s now just about as busted as a myth can get.
Nov 20, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Added much more discussion of the study of patellar alignment assessment originally added back in June, in the section Patellofemoral Tracking Syndrome.
Nov 20, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Substantive update today, a whole new section, Is patellar misalignment evidence of a tight IT band and iliotibial band syndrome?
Nov 17, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — A little smorg of updates today: (1) A lovely new illustration by a new case study section with a fascinating success story, demonstrating “a terribly important basic piece of wisdom to ‘get’ for anyone who is prone to muscle pain.” And (3) just a bit of updating of the tools sections with the idea of a “bucket of balls.”
Oct 23, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — As promised last week, there are now four new advanced sections about the use of medications to treat trigger point pain. These are major new sections with a whole bunch of useful information for patients and pros. Also, all discussion of Botox (especially the Botox section) was updated with new scientific evidence that it’s not as effective a therapy for trigger point pain as we all hoped.
Oct 16, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Two new sections: “Muscle knots are not inflammatory: the myth of the inflamed myofascial trigger point” and “Common medications that might make a difference (and might not).” More advanced medication information to follow soon: this is just a summary of the basics so far.
Oct 12, 2009 — When to Worry About Low Back Pain — Added important and reassuring information about the chronicity of low back pain. See “Prognosis for patients with chronic low back pain: inception cohort study”.
Oct 12, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section, “Chronic low back pain is not so chronic: the myth of chronicity,” based on interesting new scientific evidence. The research is explained in a short free article, but I discuss it in quite a bit more detail here.
Oct 1, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — An important new section on anti-inflammatory medications, notably including discussion of Voltaren® Gel, a worthwhile treatment option for shin splints only recently got into my radar. You can read about Voltaren in a free article as well as here in the tutorial, but the tutorial covers the topic specifically as it relates to each of the different kinds of shin splints.
Oct 1, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Added a section on anti-inflammatory medications, and included Voltaren® Gel, an excellent treatment option for muscle strain that only recently got into my radar. You can read about Voltaren in a free article as well as here in the tutorial, but the tutorial covers the topic specifically as it relates to muscle strain.
Oct 1, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Wow, that’s probably the longest I’ve gone without updating this tutorial! (I was quite preoccupied with upgrading the neck pain tutorial over the summer.) However, better late than never, a solid update: although brief in terms of wordage, I’ve just revised the section on anti-inflammatory medications to include Voltaren® Gel, an excellent treatment option for ITBS that only recently got into my radar. This update it is a freebie: you can read all about it in a free article as well as here in the tutorial.
Sep 30, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — A substantial new section today: Trigger point diagnosis is not reliable … but it may not matter that much. I wrote about this a while back on the front page and it will be there and free for a while longer, but I’ve also added more information here and included some references to other studies.
Sep 28, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Overhauled all the diagnosis sections — starting here — reorganizing and editing here there and everywhere. Three sections were added or almost completely re-written. In particular, information about nerve blocks was added, and disc herniations are discussed in more detail than before.
Sep 25, 2009 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — The world of plantar fasciitis science moves slowly. However, here’s an interesting addition: “A new therapy: Intracorporeal pneumatic shock therapy (IPST).”
Sep 25, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Polished and expanded the section, “All the treatment options summarized.”
Sep 23, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Neck Pain & Cricks — Huge upgrade — Over the past several months, the neck pain tutorial has more than quadrupled the amount of information it offers, and it is now book-length at more than 40,000 words. Almost every single section was overhauled, and many new sections were added. Dozens of references to more recent scientific research were integrated and their significance explained, including several good new studies less than six months old.
Sep 16, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Several minor updates and refinements, not in any particular section.
Aug 15, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — It’s come to my attention that the trigger point treatment method of dry needling doesn’t have as much going for it as I used to think. I discuss the (lack of) evidence and problems in an overhaul of the section How about dry Needling and Intramuscular Stimulation (IMS) therapy? Since Dr. Chan Gunn is the doctor behind one of the most popular methods of dry needling (IMS), I also revised a section which was inspired by his ideas, “The bamboo cage” theory of muscle pain.
Aug 13, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Completely re-wrote the section How about myofascial release and fascial stretching? which is accompanied by a new (free) general review of the clinical importance of fascia.
Aug 6, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added a reference to some really fascinating new research about vertebroplasty — yet more evidence that structural “instability” isn’t actually the main problem in back pain, because “stabilizing” doesn’t actually help.
Jul 24, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Rewrote the section How about chiropractic joint adjustment and popping? It’s been condensed into a more finely tuned summary, and links out to a much more detailed article on the topic.
Jul 24, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — The sections on subluxations and spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) have been condensed into finely tuned summaries, and link to external articles covering these topics in much greater detail.
Jul 16, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Physiatrists and rheumatologists added to Types of therapists and doctors and their relationship to trigger point therapy.
Jul 16, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Small but good new section “Physiatry for low back pain.” Hat tip to Dr. Tarzwell for suggesting this one: I had previously neglected the (obvious) importance of this particular medical speciality for back pain patients.
Jul 7, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Important safety update. The section “What if there’s something really wrong in there?” has been upgraded, based on a much more careful and thorough translation of the best and most recent medical guidelines, and links out to a new free article with considerably more detail for patients who are concerned about an ominous cause of their low back pain. I’m really happy with this update: for some time now I’ve known that I needed to “cover my butt” with better information about more serious causes of low back pain — they are rare, but they do exist. I was inspired to do so by a case study from a physician I know, who encountered a patient with back pain that was actually caused by a cancer. That story convinced me that it was time to make sure my readers know when to worry about low back pain, and when not to.
Jun 30, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Added information about an interesting reference to a study showing that clinicians can’t agree on patellar tracking syndrome diagnoses (poor inter-rater reliability) — which I always knew, but it’s nice to see some strong scientific evidence of it.
Jun 18, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section: “Quick debunkery of several therapies that should be skeptical of.” Also did a little minor re-organizing of some content.
Jun 12, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section: “Quick-start trigger points” (access for customers only) describing the clinical characteristics and significance of extremely fast-activating and severe trigger points.
May 31, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Major upgrade — Major miscellaneous improvements to the section today.
May 30, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update. Started a new section, “A few more snack-sized reality checks: brief comments on other treatments to avoid.”
May 26, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update. Added a solid new reference concerning the overuse of X-ray and MRI.
May 21, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — New section: “What about pronating?”
May 18, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Added an important point to the section, “From the frying pan of injury pain to the fire of trigger point pain,” about injuries that are so severely complicated and overshadowed by trigger point pain that the victims literally don’t even know that there is a physical trauma at the heart of the problem.
May 18, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor update — Added nutraceuticals to the section.
May 17, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — Starting off with just a few items. More will be added in time, but there’s four good ones to start.
May 17, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section —
May 17, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Another new section this morning — a long overdue debunking of prolotherapy, a particularly classic example of a therapy that has failed to prove efficacy after 50 years and numerous fair scientific tests. I recommend the section not just for the useful information, but because it’s quite an interesting topic. See “Prolotherapy: still popular, and for no good reason.”
May 16, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Substantive new section, “Some other real causes of back pain,” summarizing some common causes of low back pain, such as facet joint dysfunction and injury. Such topics were missing from the tutorial before because they are so hard to diagnose accurately, because professionals and patients alike to over-react to the very idea of them, and because they are almost invariably complicated by muscle pain that becomes more prominent than the original problem. Nevertheless, these problems have a place in the tutorial.
May 16, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Small new section, based on some persuasive scientific reviews recently published in the journal Spine: “Facet joint steroid injection is not recommended for most patients.”
May 7, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Huge upgrade — About a dozen new sections, many more footnotes, and widespread editing for clarity and thoroughness. Today this tutorial is now officially “extremely detailed,” like the other advanced tutorials on PainScience.com, and went up for sale.
Apr 8, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Added an intriguing new section about a new treatment for muscle strains, a drug called “suramin,” that may be slightly miraculous. For a little while, you can read about this for free on the front page of PainScience.com.
Apr 5, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section — New section to explain and highlight evidence from Gaeta about the high prevalence of microscopic bone damage found in long-distance runners.
Apr 5, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section —
Apr 1, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — The visual design of the site was upgraded over the past several days. Although this is not an update to the content of this tutorial, it is nevertheless a significant upgrade for all of them — like publishing new editions of books with better typesetting and layout. The new design is even cleaner and reader-friendly; it now looks that good in most web browsers; and pages load as much as 50% faster. Many under-the-hood improvements will make it much easier for me to improve tutorial content. The tutorials are now well-oiled machines of digital publishing goodness, vastly superior to the low-production values of most eBooks. More information about the upgrade is published on the front page.
Apr 1, 2009 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — The visual design of the site was upgraded over the past several days. Although this is not an update to the content of this tutorial, it is nevertheless a significant upgrade for all of them — like publishing new editions of books with better typesetting and layout. The new design is even cleaner and reader-friendly; it now looks that good in most web browsers; and pages load as much as 50% faster. Many under-the-hood improvements will make it much easier for me to improve tutorial content. The tutorials are now well-oiled machines of digital publishing goodness, vastly superior to the low-production values of most eBooks. More information about the upgrade is published on the front page.
Apr 1, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — The visual design of the site was upgraded over the past several days. Although this is not an update to the content of this tutorial, it is nevertheless a significant upgrade for all of them — like publishing new editions of books with better typesetting and layout. The new design is even cleaner and reader-friendly; it now looks that good in most web browsers; and pages load as much as 50% faster. Many under-the-hood improvements will make it much easier for me to improve tutorial content. The tutorials are now well-oiled machines of digital publishing goodness, vastly superior to the low-production values of most eBooks. More information about the upgrade is published on the front page.
Apr 1, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — The visual design of the site was upgraded over the past several days. Although this is not an update to the content of this tutorial, it is nevertheless a significant upgrade for all of them — like publishing new editions of books with better typesetting and layout. The new design is even cleaner and reader-friendly; it now looks that good in most web browsers; and pages load as much as 50% faster. Many under-the-hood improvements will make it much easier for me to improve tutorial content. The tutorials are now well-oiled machines of digital publishing goodness, vastly superior to the low-production values of most eBooks. More information about the upgrade is published on the front page.
Apr 1, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — The visual design of the site was upgraded over the past several days. Although this is not an update to the content of this tutorial, it is nevertheless a significant upgrade for all of them — like publishing new editions of books with better typesetting and layout. The new design is even cleaner and reader-friendly; it now looks that good in most web browsers; and pages load as much as 50% faster. Many under-the-hood improvements will make it much easier for me to improve tutorial content. The tutorials are now well-oiled machines of digital publishing goodness, vastly superior to the low-production values of most eBooks. More information about the upgrade is published on the front page.
Apr 1, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — The visual design of the site was upgraded over the past several days. Although this is not an update to the content of this tutorial, it is nevertheless a significant upgrade for all of them — like publishing new editions of books with better typesetting and layout. The new design is even cleaner and reader-friendly; it now looks that good in most web browsers; and pages load as much as 50% faster. Many under-the-hood improvements will make it much easier for me to improve tutorial content. The tutorials are now well-oiled machines of digital publishing goodness, vastly superior to the low-production values of most eBooks.
Mar 18, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major restructuring and editing of several sections related to therapies based on the assumption of a tracking problem. See the new section, “Overview of therapies intended to improve patellar tracking.” Particularly noteworthy was the addition of important new evidence from a 2008 paper in American Journal of Sports Medicine showing that a combination of strengthening, stretching and coordination exercises were ineffective at preventing patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Mar 17, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added an important new evidence from a 2008 paper in American Journal of Sports Medicine showing that strengthening, stretching and coordination exercises are ineffective at preventing iliotibial band syndrome.
Mar 16, 2009 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — New section —
Mar 15, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Two completely new and large sections about scoliosis — one section about dubious diagnosis of scoliosis and the exaggeration of the importance of it in low back pain, and another section about how scoliosis is more or less impossible to therapize. Both sections include interesting case studies and lots of great examples of nonsense in low back pain management — this is the most substantial addition to the tutorial in several months. The new sections are: “The strange case of scoliosis, which also exists (of course), but is also over-blamed for low back pain” and “Scoliosis cannot be straightened without surgery.”
Feb 27, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Minor update: added/clarified a good reference to the scientific literature regarding acupuncture for low back pain.
Feb 26, 2009 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Science update for the section “Fancy ultrasound: Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT).”
Feb 15, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Another new advanced tip section today: “Don’t be fooled by reverse referral.” This one’s a head trip. It’s so confusing, I left it out of earlier versions of the tutorial simply because I still didn’t know how to explain it. But I decided it was time to tackle it, and here you go — I think I more or less got the point across.
Feb 15, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added a new appendix to the tutorial today, just something interesting that I couldn’t find a good place for in the main body of the tutorial: “Appendix C: A great example of how old ideas persist in health care.”
Feb 9, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — This tutorial has always been strong in the “practical tips and tricks” department. Well, play to your strengths! Lately I’ve been in the mood to add even more tips, and here’s another one today, “focusing on one trouble spot versus ‘a little bit of everything’ — which is the better strategy?”
Feb 3, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Added new information about Traumeel, a popular but questionable remedy that I often get asked about. See the section, “Reality checks: some self-treatments that don’t work at all (or not nearly as well as you would hope),” or the free article, Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain?.
Feb 3, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Added a small new section about Traumeel, a popular but questionable remedy that I often get asked about. See the section, “Don’t bother with Traumeel,” or the free article, Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain?.
Feb 3, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Added a small new section about Traumeel, a popular but questionable remedy that I often get asked about. See the section, “Don’t bother with Traumeel either,” or the free article, Does Arnica Gel Work for Pain?.
Feb 3, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New sub-topic — Added a small new section about homeopathic arnica.
Feb 2, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Improvements to the section, “How about acupuncture?” Some optimism about acupuncture was removed from the section, and an important new reference was added. Recent scientific evidence has continued to hammer away at acupuncture, and optimism about it can no longer be justified. You can read about the most recent acupuncture evidence in, Does Acupuncture Work for Pain?.
Feb 2, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Some small but important updates to the section, “The fascinating case of acupuncture, formerly a contender in low back pain therapy.” This section still suggested that optimism about acupuncture was justified. Recent scientific evidence has continued to hammer away at acupuncture, and optimism can no longer be justified. You can read about the most recent acupuncture evidence in, Does Acupuncture Work for Pain?.
Jan 27, 2009 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — New section! “Don’t get hung up on anatomy, and be persistent.” Sounds like a bit of a no-brainer, but there’s a couple ideas in there that patients often need to hear. It’s a nice addition in the “tip” category that really should have been there before.
Jan 17, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Corrected some minor abuse of a reference to some research about running speed. A reader pointed out that the study I’d cited (Orchard et al) had not involved any actual experiment related to running speed, as implied by my usage. The researchers I was quoting believed that slower running could be more stressful for the iliotibial band syndrome. They had some good reasons for this belief, but had not actually proven any such thing experimentally. Hat tip to Dan for pointing this out. A reminder to visitors and customers that constructive criticism is always welcome.
Jan 12, 2009 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — A small but important cautionary warning added to one of the treatment recommendations. It had previously been presented as a harmless and hopefully helpful stretch, but a reader pointed out that it actually has a risk associated with it — hat tip to Alberto.
Jan 6, 2009 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New section about sleeping factors, “What about sleeping position and pillowing?”
Dec 6, 2008 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Physical Therapy just published a new review of a form of therapeutic exercise for the low back (“motor control” training, which is a form of the better known concept of core strengthening), and I’ve integrated it into the tutorial. See the section “Reality check: core weakness, core strength.”
Dec 4, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — A new section, “From the frying pan of injury pain to the fire of trigger point pain,” helps readers understand the unholy relationship between injury and trigger points. For readers who have been injured, this is an important addition to the tutorial. Similar information is also available in the form of a story in the article Muscle Pain as an Injury Complication: The story of how I finally “miraculously” recovered from the pain of a serious shoulder injury, long after the injury itself had healed. There is some overlap between the new section here and the stand-alone article, but they both offer different information in different ways. If you are injured, read both!
Dec 4, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — It’s been a long time since the last update to this tutorial! It doesn’t get much love, because muscle strain is actually pretty straightforward compared to the other subjects I write about. Most of the complexity of treating muscle strain concerns its interactions with trigger points, and that is what this update is about! I recently published a (free) article about a serious shoulder injury I suffered (not a strain, but same difference) which became even more seriously complicated by the formation of trigger points. I’ve integrated some of these ideas, and a nice new graph, into the muscle strain tutorial in the section, “Muscle strains that don’t heal have usually been hijacked by trigger points”. You can also read the story of my own injury, Muscle Pain as an Injury Complication: The story of how I finally “miraculously” recovered from the pain of a serious shoulder injury, long after the injury itself had healed.
Nov 29, 2008 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Minor update. Clarified a small but potentially vital point about the nature of the ITB “fat pad” for a reader who had been thrown off by my original wording. Discovering and correcting this sort of misunderstanding is one of the best things about publishing in this format. If an author of a book expresses something in a way that misleads or confuses readers, there’s almost nothing that can be done about it!
Nov 17, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Added some information about some nice self-massage tools built by Beyond the tennis ball: some of the best commercial massage tools,” as well as some self-massage tools and products I don’t like, in the (now independent and expanded) section “Commercial massage tools to avoid.”
Nov 17, 2008 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor addition of item to the list of “Don’t bother with …” treatments.
Oct 21, 2008 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — A minor update: added reader Franklin Swann’s experience with the benefit of a longer stride to the section, “Hot tip! Run less, but run fast,” along with a new analogy to help explain that phenomenon.
Sep 20, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Added some information about the relationship between myofascial pain syndrome and disease that obviously affect the harmony of the musculoskeletal system, using Parkinson’s disease as an example. See the section “Are you a “triggery” person? The relationship between trigger points and other physiological disorders and diseases, especially fibromyalgia.”
Sep 18, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — The New England Journal of Medicine just published two fascinating new papers about knee pain, knee osteoarthritis, and knee surgery. I was really pleased to see these papers, because they provide clear and definite scientific support for many key points I’ve made in this tutorial. Kirkley et al’s paper about surgery for osteoarthritis and Englund et al’s fascinating findings about torn menisci have been added to the tutorial.
Sep 16, 2008 — Does Massage Therapy Work? — Added information about the new study in Annals of Internal Medicine about massage therapy for cancer patients.
Aug 30, 2008 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — I published a major upgrade today (by far the largest ever I think). The tutorial gained about 10,000 new words and many miscellaneous improvements. Most of the new content is in the second half of the tutorial. In particular, there are now much more detailed treatment recommendations. Previously, the tutorial leaned too heavily on the idea of the “confidence cure” for low back pain. Even though I do not believe that low back pain is an all-in-your-head problem, some readers may have been left with the impression that the solution is all in your head — which I regret. As important as the confidence cure is, it’s just as important for low back pain patients to have concrete, evidence-based treatment and self-treatment options to pursue (especially treatment options for resolving muscular trigger points in the low back). I’m happy to say that those options are now thoroughly explored. A great deal of content was moved from the trigger points tutorial and adapted specifically for low back pain, and I also spent a lot of time adding miscellaneous practical tips and tricks and re-organizing the entire tutorial. It’s a different e-book! It has the same spirit as before … but with dramatically more practical advice.
Aug 18, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Corrections and minor improvements have been made by the hundreds since the publication of the last major upgrade, which was three weeks ago. The polishing never really ends!
Aug 15, 2008 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Major upgrade — Several major revisions and corrections.
Aug 14, 2008 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Today I made numerous minor corrections, and significantly upgraded and expanded the section “Several conditions that might get confused with plantar fasciitis” while I was researching possible causes of unusual heel pain in one of my patients. I learned some peculiar things about “fat pad syndrome,” which turns out to be almost completely unstudied and unexplained — another odd little musculoskeletal mystery.
Jul 26, 2008 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Minor improvements to icing and contrasting prescriptions, and added a case study story.
Jul 3, 2008 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Supplemented the tutorial with a new short article about how Canadian Running Magazine botched their featured story about iliotibial band syndrome, and made a few corrections to the tutorial at the same time.
Jun 23, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Added some evidence to the pile concerning alleged knee pain differences between men and women.
Jun 11, 2008 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Revisions are moving slowly! However, added a major new section today, “What about surgery?” which is based on some excellent new research evidence from Dutch scientists. Made a few other minor improvements at the same time.
Jun 11, 2008 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Some major upgrades today! This is really where the power of a “web text” really shines, because this new information is based on bleeding edge, just-published science. I finally launched a new major chapter about surgery, “What about surgery?” kicking it off with a brand new section about “Surgery for sciatica: mostly underwhelming.” And a large section, “The placebo problem,” formerly an appendix, was updated and added to the new surgery section. Other sections about different types of surgery are planned for the relatively near future.
Jun 5, 2008 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added a reference to some expert opinion about IT band stretching.
Jun 1, 2008 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Added a couple references and made a number of minor clarifications and corrections based on reader feedback. Thanks, everyone!
Apr 20, 2008 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Integrated new information (in several places in the tutorial) related to the recent Journal of the American Medical Association study showing that increased spending on spinal pain (i.e. expensive surgical procedures especially) has not generally been helping people. See Back Pain Spending Surge Shows No Benefit in the New York Times.
Apr 14, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Added information about taping to the section “Taping (Kinesio Taping®) and strapping.”
Apr 12, 2008 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added information about Graston Technique® to the section “Deep longitudinal massage and Graston Technique® — a big fat waste of time and money.” Also added a reference to Kinesio Taping, which seems to be growing in popularity.
Mar 13, 2008 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Started upgrading the footnoting method today, with minor content improvements as well. Until now, the plantar fasciitis tutorial was the only major article left on PainScience.com that didn’t use “dynamic” citations that link to the bibliography. It’s taken literally years to implement that system, and this is the final tutorial to upgrade! At long last! It won’t mean much to anyone else, but it’s quite a milestone for me.
Jan 27, 2008 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Update — Added colorful anecdote from the Canadian wilderness to illustrate the seriousness of acute compartment syndrome.
Jan 22, 2008 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added a new section, “Maybe you’re just not built for running.” This was inspired by some correspondence with a reader who’d been told this by her doctor. It led to some very good ways of explaining some of the core issues in ITBS mis-management.
Jan 19, 2008 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Added the section “Super ultrasound: Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT).”
Jan 18, 2008 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added valuable new section, “Deal with insomnia.”
Jan 16, 2008 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Introduced a new special offer: all tutorial customers now receive a second, companion tutorial at no charge, The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain This is a really great deal, and a valuable extension to this tutorial. If you missed this bargain and want to be included, just drop me a line and I will happily grandfather you into the deal.
Jan 15, 2008 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Edited and expanded a few footnotes for clarity and to add a little more scientific evidence to the pile.
Jan 10, 2008 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Revised the first several sections quite thoroughly to make them more clear and readable.
Jan 9, 2008 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added a new concluding section to sum up the practical implications of all the detailed scientific information. Also, added some new information to the introduction to make sure that readers understand that there is no miracle cure for ITBS.
Dec 23, 2007 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Added the section “Ultrasound and “Sonic Relief™” are options … with strong caveats.” I review the Sonic Relief product for plantar fasciitis, and reveal some interesting statements from the company’s medical officer.
Dec 19, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Today I took some existing content and reorganized it into several new “reality check” sections to help readers make sense of the many questionable theories out there about the cause of low back pain. There were many changes throughout, but most of the new content is in two of those sections, “Reality check: the structural theories (short legs, outta whack pelvises, and spinal curvature)” and “Reality check: obesity.”
Dec 15, 2007 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Added the section “Using technology to confirm a plantar fasciitis diagnosis,” and updated evidence about night splints in the “Know your stretches” section. All of this new material is summarized for free in the short article, Plantar Fasciitis Patients Have Thick Soles
Dec 8, 2007 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Revised and expanded the introductory sections, and upgraded the sections about massaging and trigger points to be more thorough. Added reference to recent research evidence that the plantar fascia is thicker in plantar fasciitis patients.
Nov 21, 2007 — The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — This tutorial has been around for quite a while (2 or 3 years I think), but I just started tracking changes! I made a bunch of improvements to the introductory sections so that it’s clearer who the tutorial is for. Also beefed up descriptions of conditions that get mistaken for muscle strain.
Nov 11, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added a table to the section “Reality check: neurophobia!,” illustrating the differences between nerve pain and trigger point pain. You can also find the same table in the free article Nerve Pain Is Overdiagnosed.
Oct 18, 2007 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added two more chilling mis-diagnosis tales: see “Another misdiagnosis story: the strange case of Ms. Strange” and “X-ray for iliotibial band syndrome? No!.”
Oct 7, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added a good case study example in “What is the real cause of most low back pain?”, and added a long overdue new section about self-treatment of trigger points, “Self-treatment of trigger points.” It’s rudimentary for now, but will soon be expanded, and of course it links to more complete articles elsewhere on PainScience.com.
Oct 3, 2007 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Responded to reader questions with some clarifications about “A much better iliotibial stretch.”
Sep 28, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added new section “The fascinating case of acupuncture” based on interesting new evidence from Archives of Internal Medicine.
Sep 20, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added a new section based on terrific new science from Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. See “Structural problems are hard to diagnose.”
Sep 18, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Confused about whether or not to ice or heat the low back? I just added a new section, “Icing exception: (almost) never ice low back pain.” The section is short, but it links to another (free) article that just got a bunch of major upgrading, so the details are available to anyone. And I upgraded the heating section along with it.
Sep 9, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — A new study of back surgery published in New England Journal of Medicine inspired a major expansion and upgrade to the section, “The back surgery placebo problem, and how it limits our knowledge of the effectiveness of back surgeries.”
Aug 26, 2007 — Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Upgraded the orthotics section (see “Get some arch support”) with two new footnotes and some more detail and clarity.
Aug 20, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added the substantial “About ‘miracle’ back pain cures” section, which discusses competitive back pain cure products, and critically reviews a prominent back pain program called “Lose the Back Pain.” Also spent a couple hours starting to seriously upgrade the treatment recommendations. Historically, this article relied too heavily on the idea that simply understanding back pain was significantly therapeutic in itself — that is true, but it’s not the whole story. The process of beefing up other self-treatment advice began today.
Aug 7, 2007 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Polishing more or less complete.
Aug 6, 2007 — A Guide to Sciatica Treatment for Patients — Began revisions by doing a wide variety of minor improvements to the introductory sections.
Aug 6, 2007 — Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Major update — Clarified diagnostic information significantly by integrating important information gleaned from Edwards et al
True nerve problems” sections to bulk up this important subject matter. font_narrow">Aug 5, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added the “Fear of nerves”
Aug 4, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Added the “What if you’re broken?” section to make it more certain that no reader with truly ominous back pain symptoms is inappropriately reassured by this article. Most back pain is not as serious as people think — but some back pain really is serious!
Jul 21, 2007 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Addition of several new sections, a table of contents (finally), and several new images and pull quotes to make it nicer and clearer to read.
Jul 21, 2007 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Upgraded the section “Hip abductor strengthening: is it really evidence-based?” to include new research findings.
Jul 10, 2007 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Release of major new version of the article, almost three times as long. All traces of “structuralism” have been removed. Much more detailed and useful exploration of the causes of PFPS has been added, as well as many vital new sections of self-treatment. Many more improvements to the document are due over the next couple weeks as this version gets polished.
Jun 8, 2007 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added the section “What about the hips? Could hip pain be ITBS?” Expanded the “What’s the worst case scenario?” section, which now includes more reader reports of serious cases, and split part of it off to become an expanded “The risk of recurrence” section.
Jun 5, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — “Modernized” 122 footnotes. When I first published this article, it was the first heavily footnoted document I’d published on the internet, and my methods were clumsy, labour-intense, and error-prone. I’ve installed a much more reliable and user-friendly bibliography system on PainScience.com since then, but only just now got around to converting the messy old footnotes into the shiny new kind of footnotes. Hope you like ‘em!
May 27, 2007 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Integrated important new ideas inspired by the discovery of research by Devan, mostly in the section “ITBFS — not quite what you (or anyone) thought it was”
May 24, 2007 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Added several clarifying details to the description of how to use the iliotibial band mobilization.
May 23, 2007 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Expanded several of the introductory sections, added the humourous “graphical definition” of PFPS, and expanded the explanation of patellofemoral tracking syndrome and added the “wide hips” diagram. Added detailed treatment section on knee taping and knee straps, with numerous new footnotes. More major changes are due shortly.
May 22, 2007 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Added “ITBS vs. PFPS” section to aid readers in determining the difference between these similar conditions.
May 22, 2007 — The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Revision history implemented! Sorry I didn’t think of it sooner! Added section “ITBS vs. PFPS” to help readers determine the difference between iliotibial band syndrome and patellofemoral syndrome.
May 21, 2007 — The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major changes underway working towards a full revision. Started by converting footnotes to new database-driven format. You can now link from footnotes to the database for more complete information about references.
Mar 25, 2007 — Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Thoroughly revised all the sections discussing yoga (starting here), and added the “Yoga and meditation are still an option” section. This was in response to some feedback from a client who wisely pointed out that I was too critical of yoga and meditation as a back pain treatment. In my eagerness to make it clear to readers that they don’t have to do yoga and meditate, I neglected to mention that it actually is a good option for people who want to practice yoga and meditation. Good point! Thanks, Sandra.