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 article index, and sitemap.
I have been expanding and upgrading this website since the early 2000s. Relevant new science is 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 238)
- Vulnerability to Chronic Pain » Jun 2019
- Painful Lessons » Jun 2019
- Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science » May 2019
- Does Massage Increase Circulation? » May 2019
- Baxter’s Neuritis and Plantar Fasciitis » Mar 2019
- Knee Replacement Surgery Doubts » Feb 2019
- Deep Cervical Flexor Training » Oct 2018
- Cold Laser Therapy Reviewed » Sep 2018
- 💩 Massage Therapists Say » Sep 2017
- Dupuytren’s Contracture » Jul 2017
- Get in the Pool for Pain » Jan 2017
- A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia » Jan 2017
- Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches » Nov 2016
- Science versus Experience in Musculoskeletal Medicine » Nov 2016
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 25 articles in 75 days, breaking down into 25 major updates, 12 medium, 13 minor (use the button below to include/exclude the medium and minor updates). That’s an update every 1.5 days in recent history; there have been 1669 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.
- Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — New section, “Orthotics for Achilles tendinitis,” based mainly only Munteanu et al. » Oct 11
- Complete Guide to Headaches — New section, red wine and other triggers (not just for migraines) — » Oct 7
- Save Yourself from 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. » Oct 4
- Therapeutic “Touch” Is Pseudoscience — 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
- Save Yourself from Muscle Strain! — New section, about pathological vulnerability to strains — » Sep 28
- Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — Science update: cited and discussed Steffens et al on back pain risk factors related to lifting. » Sep 27
- Complete Guide to Headaches — Added more, secondary headaches chapter — Covered CSF leaks, or “upright headache.” » Sep 25
- Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain Syndrome — 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
- Complete Guide to Headaches — Added more, secondary headaches chapter — Covered aneurysms that masquerade as tension headaches, and important safety-first update. » Sep 22
- Does Epsom Salt Work? — Science updated, magnesium as a pain killer — Cited a more recent review of the science on this topic, Peng. Still negative. Did some related editing. » Sep 21
- Complete Guide to Headaches — New section, “Headache, neck pain, and ‘cricks’” — » Sep 20
- Complete Guide to 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 12
- Does Posture Correction 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 11
- Frozen Shoulder Guide — Expanded, bogus treatments list — Added Reiki and magnet therapy, plus a bunch of other minor improvements. » Sep 10
- Frozen Shoulder Guide — Expanded, massage therapy chapter — Added discussion of general health benefits of massage therapy. » Sep 10
- 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
- Save Yourself from 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
- Save Yourself from 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 6
- 34 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added new section: “All in your head: pure psychosomatic pain.” » Sep 5
- Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Added the interesting example of vaginismus and pelvic floor spasm to the list of spasm types. » Sep 5
- Frozen Shoulder Guide — Addition, differential diagnosis — Added facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, a particularly good example of a condition that causes diagnostic confusion in the shoulder. » Sep 5
- Does Posture Correction Matter? — Editing — Many minor improvements throughout the article. » Aug 30
- Save Yourself from IT Band Syndrome! — New section, post-surgical lateral knee pain — » Aug 27
- Save Yourself from 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 24
- Anxiety & Chronic Pain — Added quite a bit of recommended reading. » Aug 21
- Complete Guide to 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
- Complete Guide to Headaches — Clarifications, intro the nature of tension headaches — Revised for clarity, added a reference. » Aug 20
- Does Epsom Salt Work? — Upgraded, the logical limits of any one pain treatment — Just more and clearer information. » Aug 19
- Therapeutic “Touch” Is Pseudoscience — New section, “Matter/energy equivalence and quantum rationalizations.” » Aug 16
- 34 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added minor-but-nice perspective about the “official” major categories of causes of pain. Pie chart included. » Aug 16
- Progressive Training — New section (first update here in ages): “You can recover from practically anything with baby steps… but not everything.” » Aug 16
- Save Yourself from Low Back Pain! — New section, sacroiliac joint dysfunction — » Aug 16
- Popular but Weird & Dangerous Cures — Added drinking bleach, inspired by the FDA’s bizarre warning about it. » Aug 14
- Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain Syndrome — Science update — Added minor but very interesting new citation about the cause of chronic Lyme disease (see Jutras) » Aug 13
- Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain Syndrome — Major revisions underway — This medical factors part of the book is being revised in 2019. 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 13
- Save Yourself from IT Band Syndrome! — Minor improvement — Added more detailed explanation of testing popliteal tendon. » Aug 12
- Voltaren® Gel Review — Added small new section: “Remember, exercise is also an anti-inflammatory medication.” » Aug 8
- Repetitive Strain Injuries Tutorial — Added new section: “Exercise is also an anti-inflammatory medication.” » Aug 8
- Frozen Shoulder Guide — 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 7
- 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — New section, “Who cites so badly? Dramatis personae.” The bullshitter, the lightweight, and the bad scientist. » Aug 2
- 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
- Get in the Pool for Pain — Some editing and minor corrections. » Aug 1
- Frozen Shoulder Guide — Expanded — Added a fascinating cautionary tale of surgery gone wrong. » Aug 1
- Frozen Shoulder Guide — New section, testing for functional limitations — » Aug 1
- 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! » Aug 1, 19
- Save Yourself from 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
- Save Yourself from Plantar Fasciitis! — Minor addition — Added a sub-section about tarsal tunnel syndrome » Jul 31
- Save Yourself from Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome! — Minor addition, resting pitfalls — Added a brief discussion of an important principle: exercise is a pain-killer! Sometimes. » Jul 31
- Save Yourself from 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
- Frozen Shoulder Guide — New section, aquatic therapy, floatation, Epsom salts — » Jul 31
The last 20 blog posts
- Lessons from the 2019 Nobel prize for medicine » Oct 14, 19
- Lifting awkwardly as a risk factor for back pain » Oct 8, 19
- Red wine: not just a migraine trigger » Oct 8, 19
- Sickness behaviour and chronic pain » Oct 3, 19
- Are “extremist” patients attacking chronic fatigue syndrome science? » Oct 2, 19
- What (work) I did on summer vacation » Oct 2, 19
- A new book about frozen shoulder » Aug 10, 19
- Summer 2019 blog pause » Jul 14, 19
- A genetic defect that exaggerates all sensations (including pain) » Jul 8, 19
- Hundreds of old bibliography links fixed » Jun 26, 19
- Two pet theories about inflammation » Jun 22, 19
- Benzodiazapene withdrawal syndrome » Jun 19, 19
- What the hell is a “tension” headache? » Jun 18, 19
- Just the right amount of hyperbole » Jun 11, 19
- Strengthening-while-lengthening is a “proven” rehab method for muscle strain » Jun 5, 19
- Reality versus best practices in musculoskeletal medicine » Jun 4, 19
- Injection infection? Another surprising way to freeze a shoulder » May 27, 19
- That word “placebo” » May 24, 19
- Apostasy fallout » May 24, 19
- The metabolic roots of pain » May 20, 19
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, and the pages for those papers are like blog posts about them.
- Blended-Learning Pain Neuroscience Education for People With Chronic Spinal Pain: Randomized Controlled Multicenter Trial. Malfliet et al., 2018, Phys Ther. » added Sep 2019
- Pain Neurophysiology Education and Therapeutic Exercise for Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Pardo et al., 2018, Arch Phys Med Rehabil. » added Sep 2019
- A questionnaire survey of muscular symptoms in chronic headache. An age- and sex-controlled study. Lebbink et al., 1991, Clin J Pain. » added Aug 2019
- Mechanical loading inhibits cartilage inflammatory signalling via an HDAC6 and IFT-dependent mechanism regulating primary cilia elongation. Fu et al., 2019, Osteoarthritis Cartilage. » added Aug 2019
- Exercise-induced hypoalgesia: A meta-analysis of exercise dosing for the treatment of chronic pain. Polaski et al., 2019, PLoS One. » added Jul 2019
- Potential role of the common food additive manufactured citric acid in eliciting significant inflammatory reactions contributing to serious disease states: A series of four case reports. Sweis et al., 2018, Toxicol Rep. » added Jul 2019
- Borrelia burgdorferi peptidoglycan is a persistent antigen in patients with Lyme arthritis. Jutras et al., 2019, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. » added Jul 2019
- Glucose enhances aggrecan expression in chondrocytes via the PKCα/p38-miR141-3p signaling pathway. Wu et al., 2018, J Cell Physiol. » added Jul 2019
- Genome-wide association study of multisite chronic pain in UK Biobank. Johnston et al., 2019, PLoS Genet. » added Jul 2019
- A functional substitution in the L-aromatic amino acid decarboxylase enzyme worsens somatic symptoms via a serotonergic pathway. Khoury et al., 2019, Ann Neurol. » added Jun 2019
- A Systematic Review of Dextrose Prolotherapy for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain. Hauser et al., 2016, Clin Med Insights Arthritis Musculoskelet Disord. » added Jun 2019
- Effectiveness of customised foot orthoses for Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial. Munteanu et al., 2015, Br J Sports Med. » added Jun 2019
- A randomized controlled trial of exercise and manipulative therapy for cervicogenic headache. Jull et al., 2002, Spine (Phila Pa 1976). » added Jun 2019
- Semantic memory functional MRI and cognitive function after exercise intervention in mild cognitive impairment. Smith et al., 2013, J Alzheimers Dis. » added May 2019
- A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Foam Rolling on Performance and Recovery. Wiewelhove et al., 2019, Front Physiol. » added May 2019
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): a meta-analysis. Davidson et al., 2001, J Consult Clin Psychol. » added May 2019
- A parallel randomized controlled trial examining the effects of rhythmic sensory stimulation on fibromyalgia symptoms. Janzen et al., 2019, PLoS One. » added May 2019
- Noninvasively measuring the hemodynamic effects of massage on skeletal muscle: a novel hybrid near-infrared diffuse optical instrument. Munk et al., 2012, J Bodyw Mov Ther. » added May 2019
- Connective tissue reflex massage for type 2 diabetic patients with peripheral arterial disease: randomized controlled trial. Castro-Sánchez et al., 2011, Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. » added May 2019
- Non-specific low back pain. Balagué et al., 2012, Lancet. » added Apr 2019
