Body in Mind

A team of researchers, physicians, and computer scientists at Penn’s Center for Health Care Innovation have explored the various ways in which social media data can be used to investigate […]

Contextual factors play a critical role in musculoskeletal pain[1] and consequently also pain related disability[2]. This is demonstrated powerfully in the compensation arena. The compensable context is associated with comparatively inferior […]

Over the past ten years a number of articles have been written detailing the success of researchers in understanding the neurobiology of pain. Over this same period, however, little progress […]

How do we know whether a patient is likely to do well in the psychologically-based treatment we offer them? The truth is, at least for the moment, we don’t. At […]

The STarT Back Tool (SBT)[1] is a 9-item, self-report questionnaire that includes treatment modifiable domains (spread of pain, disability, and psychological factors).[2] It subgroups patients with non-specific low back pain (LBP) into […]

The short answer is “it’s unclear”; but as a pediatric pain psychologist and researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital (Boston, MA, USA), I am currently looking to increase our understanding of […]

It comes as no surprise to any health professional that one of the most important, time consuming and arguably, most rewarding aspects of our practice is providing ‘advice and education’ […]

Opioids and opioid policies have received increased attention over the last year in light of the “opioid epidemic.”  Opioid overdoses and deaths have reached staggering numbers and have led to […]

It is well known that exercise is good for health and wellbeing – but is it OK to exercise if you have painful joints caused by an inflammatory arthritic condition? […]

Was my treatment helpful, benign or harmful? Consider the common clinical scenario – a patient presents complaining of pain. You decide to administer a particular treatment. Over time the patient’s […]