High-volume PENG block with dexamethasone showed no analgesic advantage over conventional volume in primary total hip arthroplasty
More Numbing Fluid Does Not Mean Less Pain
This randomized, controlled trial enrolled 40 patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty under spinal anesthesia.
Giving doctors more numbing medicine around the hip nerve does not help patients feel less pain after surgery.
Rotational effleurage and connective tissue massage reduced labor pain compared to routine care in primiparous women
One Massage Technique Eases Labor Pain Better Than the Other
This quasi-experimental, multicenter study evaluated rotational effleurage massage and connective tissue massage (CTM) versus routine labor …
One massage technique in labor reduces pain more effectively than another, offering mothers a natural relief option without relying solely o…
Repeated conditioned pain modulation exposure linked to higher heat pain thresholds in healthy adults
Training Your Body to Turn Off Pain Signals
This planned secondary analysis of a randomized trial in 60 healthy adults aged 18 to 75 years examined whether changes in conditioned pain …
Training your brain to lower pain signals can raise your heat pain tolerance, offering a natural way to quiet chronic pain alarms.
Meta-analysis shows dexmedetomidine lowers mean arterial pressure compared to midazolam-fentanyl in surgical patients
A Calmer Sedative May Make Surgery Safer for Patients
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated 259 surgical patients receiving either dexmedetomidine or midazolam-fentanyl during intra…
A newer sedative keeps patients calmer with steadier vitals and fewer breathing problems than the older standard combination during surgery.
Review synthesizes rTMS and tDCS efficacy for neuropathic orofacial pain management
New Brain Stimulation Eases Worst Facial Pain
This mini-review evaluates the role of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS…
Non-invasive brain stimulation cuts severe facial pain by up to 45% without surgery or heavy drugs, offering hope for patients suffering fro…
Systematic review of neuropathic pain trials reveals high prevalence of restrictive exclusion criteria
The Patients Left Out of Pain Research Don't Look Like You'd Think
This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated 161 primary clinical trial publications from 2012 to 2022 regarding treatments for neurop…
Pain trials often exclude patients with depression or other conditions, leaving out the very people who suffer most from nerve pain.
Memantine reduces opioid use but not pain in knee osteoarthritis patients after surgery
This Common Memory Drug Cuts Opioid Use After Knee Replacement
A randomized controlled trial in adults with knee osteoarthritis found memantine did not significantly lower pain scores versus placebo, but…
A drug already approved for Alzheimer's disease may help knee replacement patients rely less on opioids during recovery — even if it does no…
Mobile app engagement and perceived usefulness in adult primary care patients with chronic pain
The Pain App Most People Kept Opening
This feasibility randomized controlled trial conducted a secondary analysis of data from 49 adult primary care patients with chronic pain.
A mobile app for chronic pain held people's attention for weeks on average, though deeper engagement varied widely from one user to the next…
Palm stimulator and cartoon reduce pain and fear during IV catheterization in children aged 5-12
Can a simple palm stimulator or cartoon ease a child's needle pain and fear?
A single-center RCT of 90 children aged 5-12 found that both a palm stimulator and watching a cartoon significantly reduced pain and fear sc…
Simple distractions like squeezing a palm stimulator or watching cartoons significantly reduced pain and fear during IVs for children aged 5…
Review finds TCM stroke trials less likely to define primary outcomes and report safety than Western medicine trials
Review finds Chinese herbal trials for stroke often lack standard outcome measures compared to Western medicine studies
A comparative analysis of 306 RCTs in acute stroke (2020-2024) found that Chinese herbal medicine trials were less likely to define primary …
Only 10% of Chinese herbal stroke trials defined a primary outcome, compared to 46% of Western medicine studies, making direct comparisons d…
Advanced monitoring tools may aid insertion timing in painless gastroscopy compared to traditional indicators
Timing the Scope: Why Seconds Matter in Painless Endoscopy
A narrative review examined advanced monitoring tools versus traditional indicators for determining insertion timing during painless gastros…
Getting the timing right on a sedated scope insertion may lower coughing, gagging, and risk — and smarter monitors can help.
Mechanism-oriented interventions show promising results for taxane-induced neuropathic pain in breast cancer survivors
New Hope for Breast Cancer Nerve Pain
This critical review evaluated mechanism-oriented interventions, including pharmacological treatments and neuromodulation, for taxane-induce…
Breast cancer survivors face long-term nerve pain from chemo, but new methods targeting the broken nerve machinery offer better relief witho…