TUESDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) — The Qutenza (capsaicin) skin patch has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat pain due to postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), the nerve pain that may follow shingles, drug maker NeurogesX said in a news release.
Capsaicin is the substance in chili peppers that provides the heat sensation. The Qutenza 8 percent patch delivers a synthetic form of the substance to the skin where the nerve pain is felt, the company said. Read More
MONDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthDay News) — People who suffer migraines have more than double the risk of ischemic stroke, and the risk is especially high in women, a new study has found.
Ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, occurs when blood supply to the brain is cut off by plaque accumulation or a blood clot.
In this study, researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine reviewed the findings of 21 studies that included a total of 622,381 men and women, aged 18 to 70, in Europe and North America. Those with migraines were 2.3 times more likely than people without migraines to suffer ischemic stroke. The risk was 2.5 times higher for migraine sufferers who experienced aura (visual disturbances such as flashing lights, zigzag lines and blurred vision), and for women experiencing aura, 2.9 times higher. Read More
THURSDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) — Low-level laser therapy appears to ease a common form of neck pain, a review of studies finds.
“It is effective against non-specific pain arising from the muscles and the joints, where there is not a clear cause, such as a herniated disc,” said Jan M. Bjordal, a professor of physiotherapy at Bergen University College in Norway and a member of an international team reporting the review in the Nov. 13 online issue of The Lancet.
The group, led by Dr. Roberta Chow of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney in Australia, surveyed data from 16 controlled trials with a total of 820 people treated for neck pain, using a 100-point scale to determine the difference between results of different treatments. Read More
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) — Taking a proactive approach can help reduce the level of pain linked to poor posture in office workers, researchers have found.
Employers shouldn’t just assume that problems will be solved by purchasing specially designed ergonomic office equipment including desks and chairs. It’s also important to make sure the furniture is properly adjusted, according to study author Dr. Jasminka Goldoni Laestadius, of the World Bank’s Joint Bank/Fund Health Services Department, and colleagues. Read More
TUESDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) — Women who get migraine headaches with aura should stop smoking and using birth control pills because they may increase their risk of stroke, researchers say.
For people who suffer migraine headaches with aura — visual disturbances before or during the migraine — the risk for ischemic stroke is doubled, they found. Being female, under 45, smoking and using oral contraceptives that contain estrogen added to the risk. Read More
FRIDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) — Supervised physical therapy is better than regular “wait-and-see” care for patients with a certain type of severe knee pain, according to research that suggests it reduces pain and improves function more effectively.
The findings, which are published in the Oct. 21 online edition of BMJ, examine patellofemoral pain syndrome, a common condition that causes pain in the front of the knee during and after exercise. Read More
MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) — Surgery is supposed to relieve pain from injury or disease, but new research finds that between 5 percent and 10 percent of patients don’t find pain relief after an operation, and they can experience chronic pain for many months afterward.
In a new study, researchers from Germany and Denmark tried to find out what makes some people more vulnerable to post-op pain than others. They studied 463 adult men who were about to undergo surgery to repair groin hernias and followed them after their operations. Read More
SATURDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) — Kids who play video games for more than an hour a day increase their chances of having wrist and finger pain, a new study has found.
The lead author of the study knows this all too well. Deniz Ince, who’s 11 years old, got the idea to study joint pain among his classmates at Rossman Elementary in St. Louis, Mo., after noticing that his fingers ached while squeezing oranges. Deniz, an avid Wii player, wondered if his video game habit was the culprit. Read More
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) — Having easy access to MRI scans may be a bad thing for people with new-onset lower back pain, according to U.S. researchers.
The analysis of 1998-2005 Medicare data found that patients with new pain in their lower back were more likely to have surgery if they were treated in an area that had a higher-than-average concentration of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines. Read More
TUESDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) — Children who experience frequent stomach aches can use their imagination to reduce their pain, new study findings suggest.
The study included 34 participants, aged 6 to 15 years, with functional abdominal pain, which is a persistent pain with no identifiable underlying disease. All the children received standard medical care, but 19 also received eight weeks of guided imagery therapy, which is similar to self-hypnosis. Read More
