The American Academy of Pain Management
The American Academy of Pain Management is an inclusive, interdisciplinary, and integrative organization serving clinicians who treat people with pain through education, setting standards of care, and advocacy.
The American Academy of Pain Management News and Research is made possible, in part, by educational grants from the following sponsers:
Pain Stories In The News
Long-term analgesic misuse after short-term Rx?
March 24, 2012 Source: Pain-Topics.org News/Research Updates.
New research reports an alarmingly high likelihood of briefly prescribed analgesics—whether opioids or NSAIDs—following minor surgery in older persons leading to long-term dependence on these drugs. An implication is that the analgesics are potentially being misused; however, as much as anything, this study seems to portray a fallacy of scientific evidence called post hoc, ergo propter hoc, as well as other flaws that raise questions about its validity.
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Surprising public perceptions of fibromyalgia
March 23, 2012 Source: Pain-Topics.org News/Research Updates.
Finally, good news for persons with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). New surveys reveal that public perceptions of FMS are in many ways much more positive than those afflicted with the disorder commonly believe. At the same time, however, better education of the public and persons with FMS will help to assure that early and proper care for this disorder can be received by those affected.
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Pain relievers could be spiking your blood pressure
March 20, 2012 Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University
Many common over-the-counter and prescription medications are underlying causes of hypertension, which is a major risk factor for stroke, heart attack, and aneurisms. The chemical components of the drugs can raise blood pressure or interfere with anti-hypertensive medications. And while many medications can cause this drug-induced hypertension, both patients and doctors remain dangerously uninformed.
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BeerslList: analgesics to avoid in older adults
March 06, 2012 Source: Pain-Topics.org News/Research Updates.
Updated criteria from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) identify a wide range of potentially risky medications that may cause serious side effects and other adverse drug events (ADEs) in adults 65 and older. These persons run a particularly high risk of ADEs, in part because age-related physiological changes and multiple health problems can make them more vulnerable. Foremost among the concerns might be pain relievers taken by these patients and the new AGS criteria include a significant number of analgesics to avoid.
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An ugly truth: headache and suicide attempts
March 15, 2012 Source: Pain-Topics.org News/Research Updates.
While news media have been abuzz about an "epidemic" of drug overdoses and deaths, a far more numerous and potentially greater threat to public health may be suicide attempts associated with unrelieved chronic pain. Recently reported research confirms a disturbing link between recurrent headache and attempted suicides that should be of great concern to healthcare providers, as well as to patients and their loved ones.
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Pain management in war zones mostly not battle-related
March 2012 Source: Pain Medicine News:
Traumatic injuries among service members in Iraq and Afghanistan have received considerable attention, but the major cause of unit attrition in modern warfare is actually non–battle-related injuries, according to U.S. Army Col. Steven P. Cohen, MD.
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