What’s New on PainScience.com?
New featured articles, updates to articles, recent blog posts, and noteworthy new scientific papers
I have been expanding and upgrading this website since the early 2000s. Relevant new science is added almost daily. I tend an endless to-do list like a garden, and corrections and mea culpas are always the highest priority items. In 2016 I (finally) began logging all updates, mostly so that I could promote them here: a record of everything significant that’s new or changed lately. ~ Paul Ingraham, Publisher
The 15 newest featured articles on PainScience.com (out of 231)
- Deep Cervical Flexor Training » Oct 11, 18
- Cold Laser Therapy » Sep 24, 18
- 💩 Massage Therapists Say » Sep 29, 17
- Dupuytren’s Contracture » Jul 6, 17
- Get in the Pool for Pain » Jan 24, 17
- A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia » Jan 21, 17
- Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches » Nov 16, 16
- Science versus Experience in Musculoskeletal Medicine » Nov 9, 16
- Chronic, Subtle, Systemic Inflammation » Sep 8, 16
- The Basic Types of Pain » Aug 29, 16
- Opioids for Chronic Aches & Pains » Jul 16, 16
- When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! » Jul 2, 16
- Does the IT Band Move After All? » Jun 30, 16
- What if You Could Wipe the Chronic Pain Slate Clean? » Jun 15, 16
The last 50 updates to featured articles and tutorials (of 1458 total logged updates)
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. Complete update logging started in the summer of 2016. Prior to that, I only logged major updates for the most popular and controversial articles.
hide 13 minor updates
- Does Epsom Salt Work? — Major update to the introductory sections of Part 2, covering 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. That deficiency has now been largely addressed. » Nov 17, 18
- 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 15, 18
- Massage Therapy for Low Back Pain (So Low That It’s Not In the Back) — New section: “Confusion with cluneal nerve impingement.” » Nov 14, 18
- Modality Empires — New section: “‘Success rates’ are meaningless.” » Nov 11, 18
- Save Yourself from Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome! — Editing, strength section — Just making the same points a bit more clearly. » Nov 10, 18
- 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 6, 18
- Does Fascia Matter? — New sub-topic — Discussed the relevance of real pathology of connective tissue. » Nov 2, 18
- Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain Syndrome — Editing, hypermobility section — Some minor clarifications and additions. » Nov 2, 18
- Morning Back Pain — Significant science update: cited Steffens on back pain risk factors, a fascinating study that adds some important data to this article. » Nov 1, 18
- Complete Guide to Tension Headaches — 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 27, 18
- Save Yourself from 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, 18
- Does Ultrasound Therapy Work? — Some science updates for shockwave therapy. » Oct 26, 18
- 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, 18
- The Not-So-Humble Healer — Added an example of misguided “singular” explanations for chronic pain. » Oct 26, 18
- Does Epsom Salt Work? — Minor new section, “Epsom salts bathing as magnesium and/or sulfate supplementation.” This starts the process of re-focussing the article on Epsom salts bathing as a form of supplementation. » Oct 25, 18
- Save Yourself from Neck Pain! — 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 24, 18
- Save Yourself from Plantar Fasciitis! — Minor science update, steroid injections — Replaced a citation to an old, withdrawn review with a much more recent review (which exactly the same conclusions). » Oct 22, 18
- Save Yourself from Shin Splints! — Science update, intro to risk factors — Important and interesting expansion of the section inspired by odd science news about the role of perfectionism. » Oct 19, 18
- Morning Back Pain — New section: “Morning baths are almost miraculous for some kinds of morning back pain.” » Oct 13, 18
- Trigger Points & Myofascial Pain Syndrome — Editing, crepitus (noise) section — A light re-write, de-emphasizing the dubious link to trigger points. » Oct 12, 18
- Save Yourself from Neck Pain! — Major addition, ‘core’ strength section — Added a subsantial 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 12, 18
- Frozen Shoulder Guide — Significantly improved the answer to the question “How would functional stiffness work?” by including sensitization; also added a substantial new treatment section, “Desensitization and disinhibition.” » Oct 11, 18
- The Insomnia Guide — Added a footnote about the surprising prevalence and relevance of narcolepsy. » Oct 9, 18
- Does Epsom Salt Work? — 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, 18
- 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, 18
- Save Yourself from Neck Pain! — 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 9, 18
- Electromagnetic Sensitivity Absurdity — Added brief note about EMS-inspired lawsuits. » Oct 8, 18
- Cold Laser Therapy — Added footnote about new Nobel prizes for laser technology, and how it has already been exploited to sell cold laser therapy. » Oct 6, 18
- Does Fascia Matter? — Minor clarification — Added some information about adhesions. » Oct 6, 18
- Save Yourself from Plantar Fasciitis! — New section, More invasive shockwaves! Tenex and percutaneous ultrasonic fasciotomy (plus Topaz) — » Oct 6, 18
- Save Yourself from Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome! — Expanded, diagnosis section — Added discussion of plica syndrome. » Oct 1, 18
- Voltaren® Gel Review — Added a brief anecdote about a personal success. » Sep 29, 18
- Complete Guide to Tension Headaches — New section: “From the neck or not? The cervicogenic headache debate.” » Sep 29, 18
- Pain Relief from Personal Growth — New (short) section, “Pain management versus coping.” » Sep 29, 18
- (Almost) Never Use Ice on Low Back Pain! — Added article summary. » Sep 29, 18
- Quite a Stretch: Stretching Hype Debunked — 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, 18
- 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, 18
- Science versus Experience in Musculoskeletal Medicine — Added minor point about how new positive evidence affects a record of negative evidence. » Sep 28, 18
- Anxiety & Chronic Pain — New section, “If anxiety causes pain, does that mean the pain is ‘all in your head’”? (Of course not!) » Sep 28, 18
- Save Yourself from Neck 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, 18
- Save Yourself from Neck 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, 18
- Save Yourself from 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, 18
- Save Yourself from 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, 18
- Toxins, Schmoxins! — Added much more information about real poisons and toxins, plus more specific debunking of some popular detox concepts (sweating it out, ionic footh baths, and Epsom salts). » Sep 25, 18
- Does Epsom Salt Work? — Answered reader questions about using Epsom salts as a hangover cure, and why there are warnings for diabetics on Epsom salts packaging. » Sep 25, 18
- 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 25, 18
- Are Orthotics Worth It? — Added citation to meta-analysis of custom foot orthoses for the treatment of foot pain. » Sep 23, 18
- Save Yourself from Muscle Strain! — New section, laser therapy — » Sep 23, 18
- Save Yourself from IT Band Syndrome! — New section — Not an important new section, but definitely some interesting extra colur. » Sep 22, 18
- A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — Added an exercise strategy tip based on some expert opinion (Lagerman, Booth). » Sep 21, 18
The last 20 blog posts
- Cherry-picking, nit-picking, and bad science dressed as good science » Nov 15, 18
- Is stress inflammatory? » Nov 8, 18
- Strange but true: the meaning of “pain science” is controversial » Nov 6, 18
- Stretching as a sign of maturity? » Oct 29, 18
- Don’t count inflammation out of tendinopathy quite yet » Oct 26, 18
- Three assumptions about “spasm” » Oct 24, 18
- In it for the long haul » Oct 23, 18
- Good riddance to some bad science…and RIP Robert Courtney » Oct 23, 18
- Study finds jack shit » Oct 19, 18
- Placebo brain study has major issues » Oct 15, 18
- New article! Deep cervical flexor training » Oct 11, 18
- Epsom salts baths for hangovers » Oct 10, 18
- A neurological healing process (for back pain) » Oct 9, 18
- Prolotherapy snark » Oct 9, 18
- What toxins actually are » Oct 4, 18
- Inspiring lifter of heavy things » Oct 2, 18
- Topical anti-inflammatories are effective, safe » Oct 2, 18
- Smoking linked to shoulder injuries » Oct 1, 18
- A skeptic cautiously tries some bizarre-sounding health advice » Oct 1, 18
- Doctors are not scientists » Sep 24, 18
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.
- Comparative Effectiveness of Conservative Interventions for Nonspecific Chronic Spinal Pain: Physical, Behavioral/Psychologically Informed, or Combined? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. O'Keeffe et al., 2016, J Pain. » added Oct 30, 18
- Fascial Manipulation Associated With Standard Care Compared to Only Standard Postsurgical Care for Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Busato et al., 2016, PM R. » added Oct 25, 18
- Mechanical deformation of posterior thoracolumbar fascia after myofascial release in healthy men: A study of dynamic ultrasound imaging. Wong et al., 2017, Musculoskelet Sci Pract. » added Oct 25, 18
- Effectiveness of Acupuncture and Electroacupuncture for Chronic Neck Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Seo et al., 2017, Am J Chin Med. » added Oct 18, 18
- Brain and psychological determinants of placebo pill response in chronic pain patients. Vachon-Presseau et al., 2018, Nat Commun. » added Sep 24, 18
- Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy. Schoenfeld et al., 2018, Med Sci Sports Exerc. » added Sep 5, 18
- Physical Activity as a Determinant of Successful Aging over Ten Years. Gopinath et al., 2018, Sci Rep. » added Aug 30, 18
- When Chronic Pain Is Not "Chronic Pain": Lessons From 3 Decades of Pain. Taylor et al., 2017, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. » added Jul 8, 18
- Determining the contribution of active stiffness to reduced range of motion in frozen shoulder. Hollmann et al., 2015, Physiotherapy. » added Jun 19, 18
- What triggers an episode of acute low back pain? A case-crossover study. Steffens et al., 2015, Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). » added May 25, 18
- An Evidence-Based Approach for Choosing Post-exercise Recovery Techniques to Reduce Markers of Muscle Damage, Soreness, Fatigue, and Inflammation: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis. Dupuy et al., 2018, Front Physiol. » added May 23, 18
- The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Lauersen et al., 2014, Br J Sports Med. » added May 15, 18
- Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. Vickers et al., 2017, J Pain. » added Apr 17, 18
- How to prove that your therapy is effective, even when it is not: a guideline. Cuijpers et al., 2016, Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. » added Apr 11, 18
- Red Flags for Low Back Pain Are Not Always Really Red: A Prospective Evaluation of the Clinical Utility of Commonly Used Screening Questions for Low Back Pain. Premkumar et al., 2018, J Bone Joint Surg Am. » added Mar 10, 18
- The efficacy of radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy in shoulder adhesive capsulitis: a prospective, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical study. Hussein et al., 2016, European Journal of Physiotherapy. » added Mar 1, 18
- Is the rationale more important than deception? A randomized controlled trial of open-label placebo analgesia. Locher et al., 2017, Pain. » added Dec 11, 17
- The effectiveness of a neck and shoulder stretching exercise program among office workers with neck pain: a randomized controlled trial. Tunwattanapong et al., 2016, Clin Rehabil. » added Dec 2, 17
- Subgrouping Patients With Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Hope or Hype? Saragiotto et al., 2017, J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. » added Nov 13, 17
- The relationships between low back pain and lumbar lordosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Chun et al., 2017, Spine J. » added Nov 1, 17
