Chronic Pain Expert Dr. Mark Borigini shares Chronic Pain management news and commentary at ChronicPainConnection.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91 http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91 http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/57081/medication-back Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:55:00 -0500 Dr. Mark Borigini Medications are the most frequently recommended treatment for low back pain.  Research has shown that 80% of primary care patients with low back pain were prescribed at least one medication when seen by the primary care provider; more than one third were prescribed two or more medications.   The most commonly prescribed drugs for low back pain are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as Motrin and naproxen, muscle... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/57081/medication-back http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/55635/exercise-happily Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:00:00 -0500 Dr. Mark Borigini Anyone who lives with chronic pain understands the suffering.  But for the senior population, chronic pain becomes a nightmare, particularly for those seniors who find themselves alone in life.  With little help from friends, relatives, or even strangers, it becomes all the more difficult to seek help, let alone experience relief.   As the baby boomers morph into senior citizens, chronic pain and the alleviation of it will... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/55635/exercise-happily http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/53281/unexplained-pain Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:54:00 -0500 Dr. Mark Borigini In virtually all wars there are a number of participants with unexplained symptoms.  Such complaints usually involve fatigue, non-specific gastrointestinal complaints, and muscle and joint pain.  With the Holidays fast upon us, it is a time to not only thank the men and women who serve, but also an opportunity to wish them the best when they return from the far corners of the earth.   Many readers will recall the unexplained... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/53281/unexplained-pain http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/51237/fibromyalgia Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:27:00 -0500 Dr. Mark Borigini It is rather common for patients to complain of suffering chronic fatigue along with all the pain of fibromyalgia, but it seems to me that too often perhaps doctor and patient neglect to discuss the pain of TMJD, which is also seen commonly in fibromyalgia patients.  Perhaps this is because the patient and doctor think it is a dental problem, better left to a dentist.  Unfortunately, many dentists think TMJD is at least in part a... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/51237/fibromyalgia http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/48482/fibromyalgia Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:56:00 -0500 Dr. Mark Borigini The sessions on fibromyalgia were rather popular at last week's American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco. One session I attended began at 8:00 one morning; by 8:10, the rather generous tray of croissants had been reduced to two, and one of those was missing ¼ of its original self, most likely the victim of one of our more calorie-conscious ACR members.   While there were certainly no... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/48482/fibromyalgia http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/48481/osteoarthritis Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:52:00 -0500 Dr. Mark Borigini I have more than a few osteoarthritis patients who are somehow under the impression that researchers have given up on them. These are people with chronically painful joints who still recall those heady days of the Cox-2 inhibitors--the "super anti-inflammatories" as the media so liked to call Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex. Alas, their hopes were dashed with the withdrawal from the market of Vioxx and Bextra; and the lingering fears regarding... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/48481/osteoarthritis http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/46424/prescribing-view Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:12:00 -0400 Dr. Mark Borigini It has been about ten years since the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) launched what some feel is a targeted war on drugs, the battleground being your Doctor's office. The DEA feels there has continued to be a diversion of prescription narcotics for use on "the street." I am not sure this is what they had in mind for Main Street.   The focus on physicians is perhaps the least resistant path to the easier drug bust;... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/46424/prescribing-view http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/43707/replacements Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:36:00 -0400 Dr. Mark Borigini In this year of Hillary and Sarah, it is interesting that gender issues in medicine are becoming important... and profitable.   In 2006, Zimmer, Inc. received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration to market an artificial knee that is gender-specific. This is based on studies that have focused on the anatomical differences between men and women. Specifically, men have been found to have an increase in the contact... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/43707/replacements http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/41551/pain-prevented Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:56:00 -0400 Dr. Mark Borigini How can chronic pain be prevented? Oh that I and the insurance companies knew the answer to that question!   The key is to identify those patients at risk for the development of chronic pain.   Musculoskeletal pain is a significant problem in this country: 85% of the population suffers from this affliction at some point during the employment years. Fortunately, the majority recover rather quickly from acute back pain. It is the... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/41551/pain-prevented http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/41296/marijuana-money Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:38:00 -0400 Dr. Mark Borigini Marijuana has been used as a medical treatment for many centuries. We have been hearing more about so-called medicinal marijuana because of the recent United States Supreme Court ruling that essentially concluded that state laws permitting medicinal marijuana must bow to federal law prohibiting marijuana. This is quite a sea change from earlier in the last century, when marijuana was listed by the United States Pharmacopeia (the organization... http://www.healthcentral.com/chronic-pain/c/91/41296/marijuana-money