What’s New on PainScience.com?
New featured articles, updates to articles, recent blog posts, and noteworthy new scientific papers
See also the about page, complete articles index, and sitemap.
I have been expanding and upgrading this website for 20 years now, and full-time since 2010. Useful new references are added almost daily. I am always working on an endless list of improvements, and corrections and mea culpas are always the highest priority items. This page lists everything that’s new or changed lately. ~ Paul Ingraham, Publisher
The 15 newest featured articles on PainScience.com (out of 227)
- Neurodynamic Stretching » Jun 2021
- The Science of Pain-Killers » May 2021
- Marijuana for Pain » May 2021
- Vaginismus » Mar 2021
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Chronic Pain » Oct 2020
- Reviews of Pain Professions » Aug 2020
- Chronic Pain and Inequality » Jun 2020
- Chronic Pain as a Conditioned Behaviour » May 2020
- “Windows of Opportunity” in Rehab » Mar 2020
- Vibration Therapies, from Massage Guns to Jacuzzis » Mar 2020
- The Role of “Spasm” in Frozen Shoulder » Mar 2020
- Reassurance for Massage Therapists » Feb 2020
- The False Humility of “Facilitating” Healing » Nov 2019
- Vulnerability to Chronic Pain » Jun 2019
The last 50 updates to featured articles and tutorials
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.
Current Update Stats — 50 updates to 23 articles & books in 71 days, breaking down into 21 major updates, 19 medium, 10 minor (use the button below to include/exclude the medium and minor updates). That’s an update every 1.4 days in recent history; there have been 2157 updates since comprehensive logging started in mid-2016,?Comprehensive update logging started in the summer of 2016. Prior to that, I only logged major updates for the most popular and controversial articles. and many tens of thousands since the early 2000s.
- 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 identifed and fixed this time. » Jul 26
- Does Fascia Matter? — New section, alleged fascia-COVID link — » Jul 19
- Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added a personal anecdote about successful treatment of a chronically twitching eyelid. » Jul 17
- What Works for Pain? — New section: “Pain relief in the future.” » Jul 8
- Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Science update: cited Zhang on pain relief from brain implants. » Jul 8
- 34 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 5
- 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 3
- 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
- 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
- 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).” » Jul 2
- 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
- The Science of Pain-Killers — Added minor clarifications about the upper limits of efficacy, and contraindications for NSAIDs. » Jun 30
- Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains — New section: “How opioids can cause pain: the insidious trap of downregulation” » Jun 30
- The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — New section, about the “dysfunctionality” of the tensor fascia latae muscle — » Jun 25
- Mind Over Pain — New section, about analgesic catharsis or “emotional release” — » Jun 24
- 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
- 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 24
- Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added minor new citation and commentary: “Survey says most people don’t care what the science says.” » Jun 23
- Mind Over Pain — New section, different mind-over-pain perspectives — » Jun 18
- 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
- Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Proofreading — It was time for an annual book tune-up: a few dozen minor errors have been corrected. » Jun 17
- 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 12
- Neurodynamic Stretching — Miscellaneous editing and revision after publication as an independent article. Added artwork and pull quotes. » Jun 10
- Mind Over Pain — New section, on limiting pain talk — » Jun 8
- Knee Replacement Surgery Doubts — New section based on Hamilton et al: “Confidence and optimism versus the truth.” » Jun 8
- Pain is Weird — New section — Third of three new or rebooted sections about pain chronification and the types of chronic pain. » Jun 7
- 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
- Pain is Weird — New section — First of three new or rebooted sections about pain chronification and the types of chronic pain. » Jun 7
- 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
- Mind Over Pain — Major expansion — Much more detail about several of the mind-over-pain tips. » Jun 6
- 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
- Pain is Weird — More detail — Significantly more detailed “advice for professionals” in the final sections of the article. » Jun 5
- The Complete Guide to Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain — Improvements — More detail and polish, strain-counterstrain chapter » Jun 5
- 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
- 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 4
- 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 3
- A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Science update — Added two token citations about cannabis for fibromyalgia. “Token” because the evidence barely exists. » Jun 1
- 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 31
- Knee Replacement Surgery Doubts — Some editorial polishing and three new images. » May 28
- 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 27
- Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Many minor improvements to the topics of Glutamine and arginine, branched-chain amino acids, and collagen. » May 25
- Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Science and citation update on the topic of supplement contamination and adulteration. » May 24
- The Dubious Science of Kinesiology Tape — Minor science update, just piling on with another new negative trial of taping (McManus). » May 24
- 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 23
- 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 22
- Does Massage Therapy Work? — Edited — Proofreading and minor editorial polish. » May 21
- Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Rewrote the fish oil section, with significant science updates. » May 19
- 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
- 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 19
- 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 16
The last 20 blog posts
- The Demonization of Manual Therapy » Jul 26, 21
- Amusing back pain patients with “evidence-based” garbage » Jul 23, 21
- STUDY: Real laser therapy no better than a red LED for back pain » Jul 21, 21
- Fascia and COVID embarrassingly blended » Jul 19, 21
- Humbling kidney stones » Jul 17, 21
- The trouble with “it worked for me” and “athletes use it” » Jul 15, 21
- A good example of claudication » Jul 6, 21
- Clinically subtle fracture from overload » Jul 5, 21
- How can an “expert” fail to solve chronic pain? » Jul 5, 21
- PainSci Update Roundup (July 5, 2021) » Jul 5, 21
- STUDY: Does a “dysfunctional” tensor fascia latae cause injuries? » Jun 26, 21
- What works versus what fits » Jun 25, 21
- Stegenga on Medical Nihilism » Jun 25, 21
- Brush your teeth to take better care of your… joints? » Jun 16, 21
- Quackery’s scientific double standard » Jun 13, 21
- A laser limerick: “Lasers in physical therapy are silly” » Jun 11, 21
- “All in your head” isn’t in my vocabulary » Jun 11, 21
- Fear and pessimism predict poor knee surgery outcomes » Jun 11, 21
- Three recent blog highlights + some newsletter notes » Jun 11, 21
- A not-so-surprising lack of evidence » Jun 8, 21
The last 20 bibliography items with beefier summaries
Many scientific papers added to the bibliography are boring and utilitarian, but some are much more interesting, like small blog posts about the science.
- Photobiomodulation therapy is not better than placebo in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Guimarães et al., 2021, Pain. » added Jul 2021
- Lower-Limb Pain Differentiation by a Physical Therapist in an Amateur Cyclist: A Case Report. Brindisino et al., 2021, JOSPT Cases. » added Jul 2021
- Pain mechanisms: a new theory. Melzack et al., 1965, Science. » added Jun 2021
- A prototype closed-loop brain-machine interface for the study and treatment of pain. Zhang et al., 2021, Nat Biomed Eng. » added Jun 2021
- Differences in Knee and Hip Adduction and Hip Muscle Activation in Runners With and Without Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Baker et al., 2018, PM R. » added Jun 2021
- Users' views of dietary supplements. Blendon et al., 2013, JAMA Intern Med. » added Jun 2021
- Can Adhesive Capsulitis of the shoulder be a consequence of COVID-19? Case series of 12 patients. Ascani et al., 2021, J Shoulder Elbow Surg. » added Jun 2021
- Patients follow three distinct outcome trajectories following total knee arthroplasty. Hamilton et al., 2021, Bone Joint J. » added Jun 2021
- Aromatherapy for health care: an overview of systematic reviews. Lee et al., 2012, Maturitas. » added May 2021
- No effect of creatine monohydrate supplementation on inflammatory and cartilage degradation biomarkers in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Cornish et al., 2018, Nutr Res. » added May 2021
- Massive pulmonary emboli after legs massage. Jabr et al., 2007, Am J Phys Med Rehabil. » added May 2021
- Massaging the outcome: an unusual presentation of pulmonary embolism. Lim et al., 2009, BMJ Case Rep. » added May 2021
- Leg massage during pregnancy with unrecognized deep vein thrombosis could be life threatening: a case report. Sutham et al., 2020, BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. » added May 2021
- The CANBACK trial: a randomised, controlled clinical trial of oral cannabidiol for people presenting to the emergency department with acute low back pain. Bebee et al., 2021, Med J Aust. » added May 2021
- Benefits of adding stretching to a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise programme in women with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. Gómez-Hernández et al., 2020, Clin Rehabil. » added Apr 2021
- The Impact of a Single Stretching Session on Running Performance and Running Economy: A Scoping Review. Konrad et al., 2020, Front Physiol. » added Apr 2021
- Effect of Motor Skill Training in Functional Activities vs Strength and Flexibility Exercise on Function in People With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial. van Dillen et al., 2021, JAMA Neurology. » added Apr 2021
- Acupuncture or acupressure for induction of labour. Smith et al., 2017, Cochrane Database Syst Rev. » added Apr 2021
- Electric Stimulation for Pain Relief in Patients with Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Salazar et al., 2017, Pain Physician. » added Mar 2021
- Does computer use affect the incidence of distal arm pain? A one-year prospective study using objective measures of computer use. Mikkelsen et al., 2012, Int Arch Occup Environ Health. » added Mar 2021
