Category Archives: Pain-Relief

Aimovig® plus OnabotulinumtoxinA (onabot) For Migraine Pain Relief

Posted on by

PainRelief.com Interview with:
Fred Cohen, MD
Department of Medicine, 
Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, New York

Dr. Fred Cohen

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?

Response: OnabotulinumtoxinA (onabot) and calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibodies (CGRP-targeted mAbs) are two medications used to treat chronic migraine. While both have been shown to significantly reduce monthly headache days, they are some patients that require further treatment after receiving one of these therapies. Prior to this study, there was limited data on the efficacy and safety of concomitant treatment with onabot and a CGRP-targeted mAb. 

Continue reading →

Lower Ketamine Dose Can Provide Pain Relief for Acute Pain in ER

Posted on by

PainRelief.com Interview with:
Shannon Lovett, MD, FACEP
Associate Professor
Associate Medical Director, ED Clinical Operations
Department of Emergency Medicine
Stritch School of Medicine

Dr. Lovett

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?  What types of pain were treated?

Response: The opioid crisis has led emergency medicine providers to utilize other medications to treat pain, including ketamine. Prior to our study, there was a range of recommended ketamine doses in the treatment of pain, and the most frequently studied dose demonstrating analgesic efficacy was 0.3 mg/kg. We challenged that dose by comparing a lower dose, 0.15 mg/kg, to 0.3 mg/kg of IV ketamine for acute moderate to severe pain in the emergency department. We treated acute (onset < 7 days) abdominal, back, flank, musculoskeletal, and headache pain. 

Continue reading →

Topical NSAIDS for Knee Osteoarthritis Pain Relief

Posted on by

PainRelief.com Interview with:
Dylan Wolff
M.D. Candidate

Dylan Wolff
M.D. Candidate
Dr. Mary Mulcahey

Mary K. Mulcahey, MD, FAAOS, FAOA
Director, Women’s Sports Medicine Program
Associate Professor
Assistant Program Director
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Tulane University School of Medicine
New Orleans, LA


PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?

Response: Osteoarthritis Research Society (OARSI) guidelines include topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as a level 1A recommendation for non-operative management of knee osteoarthritis, but previous reviews have demonstrated that clinical adoption of this treatment option lags. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 studies evaluating diclofenac, ketoprofen, and ibuprofen in topical preparations. We found that they are safe and effective for reducing pain and improving physical function in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Diclofenac had the strongest quality and number of studies and showed a moderate effect size for symptomatic improvement. With regards to safety, adverse events were low in the topical treatment groups, and topical preparations containing dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) showed a higher odds ratio for adverse events than preparations without DMSO. 

Continue reading →

Chronic Pain Sufferers Face Different Pain Triggers During Pandemic

Posted on by

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Rubén Nieto
eHealth Lab Research Group,
Faculty of Health Sciences
Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Barcelona, Spain

MedicalResearch.com:  What is the background for this study?

Response: The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most serious global challenges to have faced healthcare and society in the last century, taking a drastic toll on the world’s population. It has caused deaths, worsened people’s quality of life and upended the economy, among other consequences. Despite this, there is little research on how people are coping with the pandemic. In our opinion, it is of particular interest to study people with chronic pain, since COVID-19 and the circumstances surrounding it can have a greater impact on them.

Continue reading →

Fibromyalgia: Evaluation of Pain Relief Therapies

Posted on by

PainRelief.com Interview with:
VINÍCIUS CUNHA OLIVEIRA, PhD 
Departamento de Fisioterapia – UFVJM 
Brasil

Dr. Oliveira

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?

Response: Fibromyalgia is a chronic health condition of unknown etiology characterized by generalized body pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, impaired cognition, and anxiety. It causes disability, lowers quality of life and is responsible for with high direct and indirect costs. Many therapeutic options are available and delivered to these patients and it is important to patients and clinicians to understand the average effects sizes of these interventions in order to make their choices.

Continue reading →

Benefits of Psychedelics’ Microdosing May Be Explained by Placebo Effect

Posted on by

PainRelief.com Interview with:|
Balázs Szigeti, PhD
Center for Psychedelic Research
Imperial College London

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?

Response: The study investigated microdosing which is the regular intake of small doses of psychedelics drugs (e.g. LSD; a typical microdose is about 10-20% of recreational doses).  This study used a ‘self-blinding’ citizen science methodology, where participants, who microdosed on their own initiative using their own substance could participate online. Participants were given online instructions on how to incorporate placebo control into their microdosing routine without clinical supervision. The strength of this design is that it allowed us to obtain a large sample size while implementing placebo control at minimal logistic and economic costs.  The study was completed by 191 participants, making it the largest placebo-controlled trial on psychedelics to-date, for a fraction of a cost of a clinical study.

Continue reading →

NSAID Ibuprofen Arginate Provides More Rapid Pain Relief Than Standard Ibuprofen

Posted on by

PainRelief.com Interview with:
Dr. Perez Cajaraville MD EDPM
Clinical Director Pain Unit
HM Hospitales
Madrid. Spain

Dr. Cajaraville

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?

Response: The addition of L-arginine to the molecule of ibuprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), in the salt form of ibuprofen arginate has the rationale to enhance the absorption rate of the active S-(+) enantiomer of ibuprofen to achieve a rapid onset analgesic action. Despite availability of ibuprofen arginate in the market for many years, a comprehensive review of the evidence of the analgesic efficacy, tolerability and safety in different pain models has not been previously reported.

Continue reading →

Hand Arthritis: Supplement Did Not Provide Pain Relief

Posted on by

PainRelief.com Interview with:
Xiaoqian Liu
Clinical research fellow (Wednesday/Thursday)
Rheumatology Department| Royal North Shore Hospital
Institute of Bone and Joint Research | Sydney Medical School

hand arthritis

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?

Response: Hand osteoarthritis (HOA) is a prevalent joint disease, causing symptoms in up to 10% of the general adult population worldwide. Hand pain is the most common symptom in addition to functional disability and decreased quality of life. Due to the modest effects and/or potential harms, current traditional treatment such as exercise, non-inflammatories and analgesics frequently do not meet patients’ demand. More and more people are turning to complementary and alternative medicines for pain relief.

In our previous work, we identified four dietary supplements with promising treatment effects for relieving pain which are Boswellia serrata extract, curcumin, pine bark extract and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). The hypothesis was that combining these supplements to generate an enhanced benefit for people with HOA. The aim of the RADIANT study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of a 12-week course of this supplement combination in people with painful HOA who were confirmed with the diagnosis on their hand x-ray.

Continue reading →

Omega-3 fatty Acid Supplementation May Reduce Muscle Soreness After Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage

Posted on by

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Yvoni Kyriakidou, BSc, MSc, RD, ANutr, AFHEA 
Dietitian-Sports Nutritionist
Doctoral Researcher in Exercise Physiology
Translational Physiology Research Group
School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, England, UK

Yvoni Kyriakidou

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) results in transient muscle inflammation, strength loss, muscle soreness and may cause subsequent exercise avoidance. Omega-3 (primarily found in oily fish) supplementation may minimise EIMD via its anti-inflammatory properties. However, its efficacy remains unclear.

In our study, we gave people omega-3 capsules three times a day for four weeks to build up their levels, or a matching placebo. They then took part in a very intense exercise aimed at causing severe muscle pain and physiologically safe muscle damage. We then measured blood levels of inflammation and muscle damage markers, physical pain and the ability of the participants to do forceful muscle contractions every day for the next three days.

Continue reading →

High and Low Intensity Weight Training May Reduce Pain From Knee Osteoarthritis

Posted on by

PainRelief.com Interview with:
Stephen P. Messier, PhD
.B. Snow Biomechanics Laboratory
Department of Health and Exercise Science
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Stephen P. Messier, PhD .B. Snow Biomechanics Laboratory Department of Health and Exercise Science Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Dr. Messier

PainRelief.com:  What is the background for this study?  What are the main findings?

Response: Thigh muscle weakness is associated with knee discomfort and osteoarthritis disease progression. Little is known about the efficacy of high-intensity strength training in patients with knee osteoarthritis and whether it may worsen symptoms.

Continue reading →