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 230)
- Ozone Therapy for Pain » Dec 2021
- Mind Over Pain » Sep 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
- “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 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 41 articles & books in 149 days, breaking down into 16 major updates, 21 medium, 25 minor (use the button below to include/exclude the medium and minor updates). That’s an update every 2.4 days in recent history; there have been 2334 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.
- The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Science update, muscle balance chapter — Cited Guan, a good review of all inter-limb asymmetry evidence. » May 20
- 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Added a section about adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 (AMPD1) deficiency. » May 14
- Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — New section about using botox to treat unwanted contractions. » May 13
- 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 13
- The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome — Major upgrade, differential diagnosis chapter — Added more detail and several more uncommon diagnoses to consider. » May 11
- Strength Training for Pain & Injury Rehab — Added a little information about supplementation and especially vitamin D. » May 10
- 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 10
- Vitamin D for Pain — Science update, citing Bolland and Bislev on the (undetectable) value of vitamin D supplementation for healthy patients. » May 4
- 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 23
- Chronic Pain as a Conditioned Behaviour — New section about amnesia as analgesia. » Apr 21
- Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — Improvements, hamstring stretching chapter — Just a bunch of miscellaneous clarifications and minor elaborations. » Apr 18
- 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). » Apr 18
- The Science of Pain-Killers — Added brief summary of Arcoxia (etoricoxib). » Mar 30
- Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Added some context about simple, “static” magnet therapy to the pulsed electromagnetic field therapy section. » Mar 28
- 35 Surprising Causes of Pain — Minor science update: added an interesting citation about the infectious roots of multiple sclerosis (Bjornevik). » Mar 25
- 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 15
- 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
- Don’t Worry About Lifting Technique — Added an important clarification and citation about Nachemson’s famous flexion loading chart. » Mar 12
- 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
- Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response — Editing and a few minor clarifications and additions. » Mar 12
- 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
- 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 8
- 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
- Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing — Added a section, “‘Big Suppla’ is now evidence-based debunking.” » Mar 5
- Modality Empires — New section: “The price of honesty and humility.” » Mar 5
- Does Massage Therapy Work? — Minor addition — Added “nostril yanking therapy” as an example of pseudoscience in massage. » Mar 5
- 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
- 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 5
- 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
- The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Minor update — Added neuropathy as a risk factor for strain. » Mar 4
- The Complete Guide to Muscle Strains — Added sub-topic — Discussed the potential value of neural mobilization in strain rehab. » Mar 3
- 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
- Neurodynamic Stretching — New section: “A humbler goal: maybe it’s just nerve exercise?” » Feb 24
- 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 17
- Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor addition — Added tibiofibular pain to the list of possible causes of shin pain. » Feb 12
- 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 12
- 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
- Shin Splints Treatment, The Complete Guide — Minor upgrade, pronation — Just a couple elaborations and refinements, based on new risk factor evidence. » Feb 11
- 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
- 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 11
- 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 10
- 13 Kinds of Bogus Citations — No change in substance, but a bunch of editing and improvements to formatting and presentation. » Feb 5
- Does Posture Matter? — Updated, ergonomics section — Added a minor rant about the amount of nonsense in ergonomics. » Jan 29
- 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 27
- Counterstimulation — New section: “Counterstimulation as the obscure seed of truth powering a lot of quackery.” » Jan 25
- Does Acupuncture Work for Pain? — Added new section, “Is acupuncture FDA approved?” » Jan 15
- 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 13
- 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
- Complete Guide to Low Back Pain — New chapter, ozone therapy — » Jan 7
- 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 4
The last 20 blog posts
- Dozens of studies can still be wrong » May 23, 22
- Relaxation for abyssal horrors » May 23, 22
- Free frozen shoulder book » May 23, 22
- Every little bit counts! Unless it’s not ACTUALLY a little bit… 🔈 » May 19, 22
- Adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 (AMPD1) deficiency » May 14, 22
- Why don’t all injuries hurt? Five theories 🔈 » May 13, 22
- Lift faster, function better » May 11, 22
- Imaging pros & cons: interview » May 10, 22
- Progressive exercise fails a test?! 🔈 » May 4, 22
- The unflattering evidence on CBT for pain » May 2, 22
- Body of Evidence interview about leaving massage therapy behind » Apr 27, 22
- Slow exhalations: are they a meditative breathing upgrade? (Member Post) 🔈 » Apr 26, 22
- Hype control for neuroinflammation » Apr 22, 22
- Improve knee pain slightly (without changing biomechanics) » Apr 22, 22
- Can you forget pain? » Apr 20, 22
- What would Carl Sagan do? » Apr 19, 22
- 183 inconclusive compression gear studies » Apr 17, 22
- Placebo power hype Pro Max++ Edition » Apr 12, 22
- Tendon rupture not as obvious as you’d think » Apr 11, 22
- 6 reasons people believe the mind has power over pain » Apr 7, 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.
- 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
- 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
- Disc pressure measurements. Nachemson et al., 1981, Spine (Phila Pa 1976). » added Feb 2022
- Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis. Bjornevik et al., 2022, Science. » added Feb 2022
- The semantics of microglia activation: neuroinflammation, homeostasis, and stress. Woodburn et al., 2021, J Neuroinflammation. » added Jan 2022
- Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps. Garrison et al., 2020, Cochrane Database Syst Rev. » added Dec 2021
- A double-blinded randomised controlled study of the value of sequential intravenous and oral magnesium therapy in patients with chronic low back pain with a neuropathic component. Yousef et al., 2013, Anaesthesia. » added Dec 2021
- Magnesium as an Alternative or Adjunct to Opioids for Migraine and Chronic Pain: A Review of the Clinical Effectiveness and Guidelines. Banerjee et al., 2017, CADTH Rapid Response Reports. » added Dec 2021
- Relationship between Magnesium Intake and Chronic Pain in U.S. Adults. Tarleton et al., 2020, Nutrients. » added Dec 2021
- Vitamin C pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers: evidence for a recommended dietary allowance. Levine et al., 1996, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. » added Dec 2021
- Rapidly Destructive Hip Disease Following Intra-Articular Corticosteroid Injection of the Hip. Okike et al., 2021, J Bone Joint Surg Am. » added Dec 2021
- What is the incidence of cauda equina syndrome? A systematic review. Hoeritzauer et al., 2020, J Neurosurg Spine. » added Nov 2021
- Skeletal muscle regeneration with robotic actuation-mediated clearance of neutrophils. Seo et al., 2021, Sci Transl Med. » added Oct 2021
- Is Neck Posture Subgroup in Late Adolescence a Risk Factor for Persistent Neck Pain in Young Adults? A Prospective Study. Richards et al., 2021, Phys Ther. » added Oct 2021
