What works for stubborn aches, pains, and injuries?
And what doesn’t? And why? PainScience.com explores the surprisingly weird science of many kinds of chronic pain and injury, from fibromyalgia to runner’s knee. The site is a library of a couple deep-dive articles for both patients and healthcare professionals, informal but heavily referenced and constantly updated for 20 years. Like it says on the tin, there’s a pro-science bias here, and quackery is kicked to the curb. More.
Why the salamander? More mascot than logo, the salamander’s astonishing regenerative biology is a symbol of healing. More.
The basic newsletter is free: 4-8 posts per month, many of them short, about anything useful or neat for patients or pros. Browse the archives. ❐
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What hurts? The most popular guides to specific conditions
- When to Worry About Neck Pain … and when not to! — Tips, checklists, and non-scary possible explanations for neck pain.
- A Deep Dive into Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness — The biology & treatment of the “muscle fever” that follows intense exercise.
- The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome — Everything you could possibly want to know about the most common type of runner’s knee.
- 6 Main Causes of Morning Back Pain — Why is back pain worst first thing in the morning?
- A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia — All about the mysterious disease of pain, exhaustion, and mental fog.
- Cramps, Spasms, Tremors & Twitches — The biology and treatment of unwanted muscle contractions.
- Complete Guide to Frozen Shoulder — Exploring one of the strangest of all common musculoskeletal conditions.
- INDEX of 52 CONDITION GUIDES
What works? The most popular treatment reviews
- Quite a Stretch — The most popular form of therapeutic exercise… has few actual benefits.
- Does Epsom Salt Work? — The science and mythology of Epsom salt bathing as a tonic for pain & injury.
- Trigger Point Therapy — All about the strange therapeutic art of… pressing on sore spots?
- Strength Training Frequency — Strength training is surprisingly efficient, good medicine.
- The Chiropractic Controversies — A tour of far too many chiropractic controversies.
- Does Platelet-Rich Plasma Injection Work? — Nope. The first popular “regenerative” therapy is bogus.
- Zapped! Does TENS work for pain? — Electrical stimulation is perpetually popular, which is weird.
- See also compilations of the most proven pain treatments, as well as a much wider range of more speculative options (but still safer and more plausible).
- INDEX of 92 TREATMENT REVIEWS
Yes, but why? Articles about key concepts and principles of pain
- Pain is Weird — Pain is trickster, a volatile and misleading sensation.
- Your Back Is Not Out of Alignment — Debunking the obsession with alignment and biomechanics.
- MRI Worse than Useless for Back Pain — The legacy of the false alarm machines!
- Is Running on Pavement Risky? — Hard-surface running might be a risk factor for running injuries. It’s surprising hard to tell.
- Sensitization — Pain can change how pain works… and never for the better.
- INDEX of 55 ARTICLES ABOUT CONCEPTS
The blog & newsletter: pain science news, highlights, and musings
The PainScience.com blog is the “director’s commentary” for the site.
- Feb 3: Why do so many pain patients say their symptoms were ignored?
- Jan 31: Is Chinese acupuncture research more like propaganda than science?
- Jan 28: 6 ways being a sucker for supplements can go wrong
- Jan 28: Conditional trust in science (and the condition is "must agree with me")
- Jan 28: Plenty of disagreement, not much “arguing”
- INDEX of 1221 POSTS
What’s new? Article updates
A steady stream of content improvements and corrections are all logged, like on Wikipedia.
- Feb 7: inequality and pain +Added a fair bit of new material to dig deeper into why healthcare professionals fail to take symptoms seriously. Revised the introduction. Miscellaneous editing throughout the article.
Chronic Pain and Inequality - Jan 29: most effective chronic pain treatments +Added a new section: “‘Prehab’ works (for preventing pain after surgery).”
What Works for Chronic Pain? - Jan 28: supplements +Refinements to the discussion of indirect harms. That section is now called: “6 ways being a sucker for supplements can go wrong.”
Vitamins, Minerals & Supplements for Pain & Healing - Jan 24: the “impress me” test +A rare update to this old article, acknowledging that I may have been too dismissive of small effect sizes over the years. See the new section, “Give small a chance.”
Most Pain Treatments Damned With Faint Praise - Jan 23: masking symptoms is under-rated +General editing and improvements.
Masking Pain is Under-Rated - INDEX of MANY MORE UPDATES
You’ve got a lot of reading to do! Sorry it’s all here on the computer …
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