Tag: Chronic pain

Move on please….it is nearly 2017!

Move on please….it is nearly 2017!

Last post for the year. My apologies for the low number of posts this year. 2016 has been a busy year for a number of reasons, most of them positive! To finish off I am going to deal with my “favourite” topic that continues to relate to this view that “core stability” training is an absolutely […]

By December 31, 2016 6 Comments Read More →
Blaming Pathology or Lack of Pathology

Blaming Pathology or Lack of Pathology

I have blogged a number of times about how there is generally a very poor correlation between the “pathology” we see on scans and pain. The lower back being the most commonly cited example but there are many other examples (see here, here and here)  and over time the list appears to be getting longer. […]

Mechanical vs Non-Mechanical Pain

Mechanical vs Non-Mechanical Pain

I wrote a while back about posting in relation to the “Inverted Pyramid”. The inverted pyramid principle is aimed at keeping what we do simple. I think as a profession we have a tendency to overcomplicate many things and “fluff” around doing and focusing on things that in some cases are of very little importance. Instead […]

By September 20, 2015 3 Comments Read More →
Recommended Reading – Pain Classification – July 2015

Recommended Reading – Pain Classification – July 2015

Sorry for the lack of posts, I am busy with some updates of university lectures. As you can imagine I am a bit OCD about presenting up to date information in my lectures. Given the time constraints at the moment I thought I might post the occasional article I come across in my lecturing preparations […]

Core Stability – Research Update – May 2015

Core Stability – Research Update – May 2015

I have posted previously regarding the “Core Stability Problem“. One of the first articles I reviewed this year in relation to this topic was: An update of stabilisation exercises for low back pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis by Smith et al (2014). I think this systematic review quite clearly demonstrates where we are now at with the “Core Stability” and the “Stabilisation” approach. Key conclusions by the authors […]

Imaging Findings In Asymptomatic Lumbar Spines – Research Update – January 2015

Imaging Findings In Asymptomatic Lumbar Spines – Research Update – January 2015

The plan this year is to shorten my posts, and post more regularly. Here we go……wish me luck! Imaging findings in asymptomatic lumbar spines and other areas of the body, are recurring theme on this site. Mainly because of the experiences I have routinely had where patients are managed purely based on their imaging findings. Here […]

By January 30, 2015 8 Comments Read More →
Is Lifting Technique Important?

Is Lifting Technique Important?

A common theme I continue to encounter in clinical practice is the belief from patients, and health care providers, that correct lifting technique i.e. maintaining a lumbar lordosis, is critical in the prevention and rehabilitation of back injuries. I can recall this belief being around for as long as I have been practicing and studying […]

By January 22, 2015 2 Comments Read More →
Cold Hyperalgesia Testing

Cold Hyperalgesia Testing

I have often read in the literature the view that Cold Hyperalgesia is suggestive of more “severe” pain states and hence poorer prognosis. For example: Van Oosterwijck et al (2013) reported in their Systematic literature review on the evidence for central sensitisation in chronic whiplash that: The outcome of the processes involved in central sensitization […]

For the Patient – Why is my pain not getting better?

For the Patient – Why is my pain not getting better?

Since starting this blog I have been planning on posting information for patients to read and hopefully provide them some assistance.  So this post is written for patients and is based on the research evidencen presented in this blog thus far. I thought I might start with a post relating to a question I get […]

Sleep and Chronic Pain – Research Update – March 2014

Sleep and Chronic Pain – Research Update – March 2014

The association between poor sleep and chronic pain is an interesting subject. For those interested, I previously posted on Sleep and Chronic Pain back in September 2012. I had the following fantastic article forwarded to me by a colleague, and I thought it apt to provide a research update on this topic. Finan PH, Goodin BR, Smith MT. The association […]