Pain

Restless legs syndrome, insomnia and brain chemistry: A tangled mystery solved?

Johns Hopkins researchers believe they may have discovered an explanation for the sleepless nights associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS), a symptom that persists even when the disruptive, overwhelming nocturnal urge ...

Neuroscience created May 07, 2013 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Hastings Center calls on health care professionals and organizations to meet standards for good care near the end of lif

People with chronic or life-threatening illnesses often experience problems with their care, including confusion and conflict over how to make good decisions, poor communication with care providers, inadequate pain and symptom ...

Health created May 07, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Spinal 'spacer' procedure has fewer complications, but higher risk of repeat surgery

Interspinous spacer implantation—a less-invasive alternative surgical option for spinal stenosis—has a lower complication rate than spinal fusion, reports a study in the May 1 issue of Spine.

Surgery created May 07, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study demonstrates that once-a-day pill offers relief from ragweed allergy symptoms

An international team of researchers, led by physician-scientists at Johns Hopkins, reports that a once-daily tablet containing a high dose of a key ragweed pollen protein effectively blocks the runny noses, sneezes, nasal ...

Immunology created May 07, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Period pain not made worse by copper IUD

Using a copper intrauterine device (IUD), or coil, does not exacerbate period pain, reveals a study where researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, followed 2,100 women for 30 years.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 07, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Geneticists find causes for severe childhood epilepsies

(Medical Xpress)—Using a state-of-the-art DNA sequencing technique, UA researchers have discovered genetic mutations underlying seizure disorders in previously undiagnosed children.

Neuroscience created May 07, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Medical innovation/quality improvement platform featured in Health Affairs

A quality improvement platform developed at Boston Children's Hospital could help health care provider groups continuously improve their medical practice, curbing costs and improving patient outcomes. Successful outcomes ...

Health created May 06, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Heroin vaccine blocks relapse in preclinical study

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have reported successful preclinical tests of a new vaccine against heroin. The vaccine targets heroin and its psychoactive breakdown products in the bloodstream, preventing ...

Medical research created May 06, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New Canadian guidelines for treating fibromyalgia

Physicians from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and the University of Calgary have published a review article in the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) to help family doctors diagnose and treat fibromy ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 06, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

The nocebo effect: Media reports may trigger symptoms of a disease

Media reports about substances that are supposedly hazardous to health may cause suggestible people to develop symptoms of a disease even though there is no objective reason for doing so. This is the conclusion of a study ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created May 06, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Migrant women less likely to have unassisted birth, study finds

Some groups of migrant women in Australia are at a higher risk of medical interventions in childbirth that may lead to health problems for the mother or child, a new study has found.

Obstetrics & gynaecology created May 06, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Physical exercise in the fight against osteoporosis

Montserrat Otero, PhD holder in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country, has designed a physical exercise programme which is based on very basic, rudimentary materials and which ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 06, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Injecting insulin through clothes may contribute to infection

(HealthDay)—Insulin injections have been associated with non-tuberculous mycobacteria cutaneous infections and cutaneous mycobacteria may have a prolonged incubation period, according to a literature review ...

Diabetes created May 05, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Discovery may help prevent chemotherapy-induced anemia

Cancer chemotherapy can cause peripheral neuropathy—nerve damage often resulting in pain and muscle weakness in the arms and legs. Now, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered ...

Medical research created May 05, 2013 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

When less is more: New protocol limits use of SPECT MPI

A new stress test protocol that investigates reducing the use of perfusion imaging in low risk patients undergoing SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging for possible angina symptoms was found to be diagnostically safe, revealed ...

Cardiology created May 05, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting alcohol on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone." The International Association for the Study of Pain has a definition that is widely used: "Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage".

Pain motivates the individual to withdraw from damaging situations, to protect a damaged body part while it heals, and to avoid similar experiences in the future. Most pain resolves promptly once the painful stimulus is removed and the body has healed, but sometimes pain persists despite removal of the stimulus and apparent healing of the body; and sometimes pain arises in the absence of any detectable stimulus, damage or disease.

Pain is the most common reason for physician consultation in the United States. It is a major symptom in many medical conditions, and can significantly interfere with a person's quality of life and general functioning. Psychological factors such as social support, hypnotic suggestion, excitement, or distraction can significantly modulate pain's intensity or unpleasantness.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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