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
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The 15 newest featured articles on PainScience.com (out of 234)
- The Tibiofibular Joint and Lateral Knee Pain » Feb 2022
- Ozone Therapy for Pain » Dec 2021
- Mind Over Pain » Sep 2021
- What Works for Pain? » Jun 2021
- Counterstimulation » Jun 2021
- Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response » Jun 2021
- 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
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 40 articles & books in 169 days, breaking down into 23 major updates, 20 medium, 19 minor (use the button below to include/exclude the medium and minor updates). That’s an update every 2.7 days in recent history; there have been 2387 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. Go to the complete update archives.
- Pain is Weird — Editing — And still more minor improvements and clarifications in several sections. » Sep 20
- The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Science update — Added a much more detailed explanation of how the sensitivity of muscle has been demonstrated experimentally, based on Graven-Nielsen et al. » Sep 20
- Vibration Therapies, from Massage Guns to Jacuzzis — Added new section, “That bizarre 2021 study of ‘robotic mouse massage.’” » Sep 19
- Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation — Added new section, “Massaging the inflammation away.” » Sep 19
- 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a new section about cancer in general as a cause of some kinds of seemingly simple musculoskeletal pain. » Sep 2
- Chronic Pain and Inequality — New section: “Disastrously dismissing women’s symptoms.” Plus a science update: Madden on how injured women are more likely to be assaulted by a boyfriend or husband. » Aug 31
- A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — A minor (but particularly interesting) science update: Roman et al on muscle nuclei migrating to sites of microtrauma for repairwork. » Aug 26
- Pain is Weird — Revision — Many changes to acknowledge uncertainties and controversies about the hypothesis that pain can be out of proportion to sensation, or that it can exist without any tissue damage at all. Some new citations. » Aug 22
- Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Addition, hall of treatment shame — Added “toe spreaders” to the hall of shame. » Aug 22
- Should You Get A Lube Job for Your Arthritic Knee? — Science update. A huge new review from the British Medical Journal is very “nail in the coffin” for viscosupplementation. » Aug 19
- Does Ultrasound Therapy Work? — Added a sidebar: “Self-serve shockwave therapy? Buyer beware” » Aug 18
- 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — Added two sections: “Mechanism masturbation” and “Dozens of studies can still be wrong.” » Aug 17
- Many Pages — Improved login UX for PainSci members, enabling “quick login” at paywalls for members-only content around the site, revealing the content in a single step rather than the several steps the old way required. More information and examples. » Aug 16, 22
- Does Posture Matter? — Science update, muscle balance — Cited Guan as a particularly good example of how limited the science of muscle balance is. » Aug 15
- Eccentric Contraction — New section: “Is running downhill healthier than running up, because of braking contractions?” » Aug 13
- Does Massage Therapy Work? — New section, foam rolling — Well, this is rather overdue. » Aug 10
- The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New chapter, Pain Reprocessing Therapy — A major addition to the book, months in the making, 1000 words about the most sensational back pain science claim of 2022: that PRT works dramatically better than anything else. » Aug 10
- The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New chapter, CBT for back pain — A major addition to the book, months in the making, 1500 words and a dozen new citations, all about “the elephant in the mind-game room.” » Aug 10
- The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New chapter, overview of the psychology of back pain — An announcement and summary of key ideas on the theme of the psychology of back pain coming to the book throughout the middle of 2022. » Aug 10
- 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Science update. Added rheumatic symptoms from Long COVID to post-viral syndrome section. » Aug 6
- Vulnerability to Chronic Pain — Added useful new tip: “How vulnerable are you? Take the stork test of doom!” Based on Araujo. » Aug 6
- Trigger Points on Trial — Added a sidebar: “Please! Stop saying trigger points ‘don’t exist’.” » Aug 5
- Reassurance for Massage Therapists — Science update. Added a citation about tolerance of medical uncertainty (Begin). » Aug 5
- Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Substantial upgrades to the section “The hiccup hack” section. » Aug 3
- The Trouble with Chairs — Science update. Added a citation to Santos about weekend warriorism. » Aug 3
- Marijuana for Pain — Added a citation to Gazendam. Clarified a couple minor points. Emphasized that cannabis is safe and plausible enough to be worth trying for many patients. » Jul 26
- Homeopathy Schmomeopathy — Science update, cited Gartlehner. » Jul 21
- Pain is Weird — Editing — Many minor improvements and clarifications in several sections. » Jul 20
- Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — Revised and expanded the introduction and summary; added menstrual cramps to the master list of familiar spasms; added a new small section, “The hiccup hack: forced inspiratory suction and swallow.” » Jul 16
- Many Pages — Article summaries have been restored after a long absence and some overdue rejiggering of how they are displayed. Most of the longer articles on PainScience.com once again have an “abstract.” » Jul 9, 22
- Electromagnetic Sensitivity Absurdity — Added more information about non-ionizing radiation and the epidemiology data on wireless gadgets and cancers. » Jul 8
- Pain is Weird — New section, pain asymbolia. » Jul 3
- You Might Just Be Weird — Added a couple good citations about vertebrae and pelvic bone shapes, with some good images, and a new section: “Feeling for crookedness of the vertebra and pelvis.” » Jun 24
- Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a section about probiotics and the microbiome. Can gel caps full of “good bacteria” treat pain outside the gut? » Jun 23
- Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — Addition, differential diagnosis section — Added a discussion of a possible link between plantar fasciitis and hallux limitus. » Jun 17
- The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — More information, imaging section — Added an additional reason for imaging: some “strains” turn out to be stress fractures. » Jun 15
- The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Minor addition — Added a little information for cyclists about the effect of pedal crank length on knee loading. » Jun 14
- Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a section about Coenzyme Q10 and statin-associated myalgia (SAM). » Jun 13
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Chronic Pain — Added a short section about Ashar et al: “That 2022 Pain Reprocessing Therapy study is way too good to be true.” » Jun 11
- The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Small improvement — Added some useful reader perspective on their experiences asking surgeons for assistance. » Jun 11
- Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Science update and a small new section, “Lift faster, function better,” based on Balachandran et al. » Jun 7
- Icing for Injuries, Tendinitis, and Inflammation — Added a bunch of important detail to the RSI section about acute versus chronic inflammation. » Jun 7
- The Complete Guide to Chronic Tension Headaches — Science update, secondary headaches — Added headache as a side effect of Duloxetine. » Jun 7
- Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Minor addition, movement therapy — Added a small sub-section to recommend the “pendulum” exercise. Simple but nice. » Jun 6
- Microbreaking — General upgrade with lots of revision and modernization. Added more information about strength training and other kinds of micro-exercise. Introduced a focus on the social aspects of micro-exercise at work. Several new citations, and there’s a blog post with much more detail about the most important one (Andersen): “Itty bitty workouts prevent some workplace injuries.” » Jun 2
- Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Science update, alternatives to structuralism — Inspired by Cormack, I finally cited Engel (as I should have long ago). » May 30
- Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis — New chapter, muscle strain. » May 28
- What Works for Pain? — Added section: “Icing and heating work (not dramatically, but accessibly and comfortingly in many painful situations).” » May 26
- Placebo Power Hype — Added some classic citations, most notably to Beecher and Hróbjartsson. » May 26
- The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update, muscle balance chapter — Cited Guan, a good review of all inter-limb asymmetry evidence. » May 20
The last 20 blog posts
- Chasing posture as a cause of back pain is a dead end » Oct 4, 22
- Pulling on nerves for fun and therapy 🔈 » Sep 26, 22
- Icing is not dead » Sep 21, 22
- Cognitive behavioural therapy for low back pain (Member Post) 🔈 » Sep 15, 22
- Charles, the Alternative King? » Sep 13, 22
- Cancer risks from gadget radiation are super low to nil 🔈 » Sep 12, 22
- Psychosomatic pain in the ER » Sep 9, 22
- Hypnotizing your gut » Sep 7, 22
- Blogging holiday is over: now what? » Sep 6, 22
- Better login UX » Aug 16, 22
- The PainSci newsletter is one year old (and I’m taking a break) » Aug 2, 22
- The hiccup hack: suckin’ and swallowin’ » Aug 1, 22
- Vagus nerve hype and hope (Member Post) 🔈 » Jul 27, 22
- Please! Stop saying trigger points “don’t exist” » Jul 23, 22
- Not everyone has heard of eeee-mail yet » Jul 22, 22
- Pick a joint, any joint! » Jul 21, 22
- Where there is stimulation, there is counterstimulation » Jul 20, 22
- Medical uncertainty » Jul 19, 22
- Dodging COVID at a wedding 🔈 » Jul 18, 22
- Stork test of doom » Jul 11, 22
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.
- Effect of statin therapy on muscle symptoms: an individual participant data meta-analysis of large-scale, randomised, double-blind trials. Cholesterol Treatment Trialists' Collaboration et al., 2022, Lancet. » added Sep 2022
- Putting the Squeeze on Compression Garments: Current Evidence and Recommendations for Future Research: A Systematic Scoping Review. Weakley et al., 2022, Sports Med. » added Aug 2022
- How to recognize and manage psychosomatic pain in the pediatric emergency department. Cozzi et al., 2021, Ital J Pediatr. » added Aug 2022
- 'Myths and facts' education is comparable to 'facts only' for recall of back pain information but may improve fear-avoidance beliefs: an embedded randomized trial. Silva et al., 2022, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. » added Aug 2022
- Association of the "Weekend Warrior" and Other Leisure-time Physical Activity Patterns With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality: A Nationwide Cohort Study. Santos et al., 2022, JAMA Intern Med. » added Jul 2022
- Evaluation of the Forced Inspiratory Suction and Swallow Tool to Stop Hiccups. Alvarez et al., 2021, JAMA Netw Open. » added Jul 2022
- Exercise and education versus saline injections for knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled equivalence trial. Bandak et al., 2022, Ann Rheum Dis. » added Jul 2022
- Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body. Sender et al., 2016, PLoS Biol. » added Jun 2022
- The biopsychosocial model is lost in translation: from misrepresentation to an enactive modernization. Cormack et al., 2022, Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. » added May 2022
- Is the placebo powerless? Update of a systematic review with 52 new randomized trials comparing placebo with no treatment. Hróbjartsson et al., 2004, J Intern Med. » added May 2022
- Association between Inter-Limb Asymmetries in Lower-Limb Functional Performance and Sport Injury: A Systematic Review of Prospective Cohort Studies. Guan et al., 2022, J Clin Med. » added May 2022
- The dorsal root ganglion in chronic pain and as a target for neuromodulation: a review. Krames et al., 2015, Neuromodulation. » added Apr 2022
- Evidence for infection in intervertebral disc degeneration: a systematic review. Smith et al., 2022, Eur Spine J. » added Apr 2022
- An amygdalar neural ensemble that encodes the unpleasantness of pain. Corder et al., 2019, Science. » added Apr 2022
- Assessing the magnitude of reporting bias in trials of homeopathy: a cross-sectional study and meta-analysis. Gartlehner et al., 2022, BMJ Evid Based Med. » added Mar 2022
- Big Suppla: Challenging the Common View of the Supplements and Herbs Industry Affects the Willingness to Try and Recommend Their Products. Mijatović et al., 2022, Studia Psychologica. » added Mar 2022
- Postmenopausal spinal osteoporosis: flexion versus extension exercises. Sinaki et al., 1984, Arch Phys Med Rehabil. » added Mar 2022
- Association of Lumbar MRI Findings with Current and Future Back Pain in a Population-based Cohort Study. Kasch et al., 2022, Spine (Phila Pa 1976). » added Mar 2022
- Orienting in a defensive world: mammalian modifications of our evolutionary heritage. A Polyvagal Theory. Porges et al., 1995, Psychophysiology. » added Mar 2022
- Non-local Muscle Fatigue Effects on Muscle Strength, Power, and Endurance in Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Behm et al., 2021, Sports Med. » added Mar 2022
