Chronic Pain Education Through Tweeting

In the latest in a series of articles on this blog relating to chronic pain, ABC News has released an interesting article covering many common questions about chronic pain in the form of Twitter tweets.  It is an interesting and engaging lens into the world of chronic pain.  I urge you to take a look at the original article, which can be found by clicking this link.  Considering that as much as 25% of the United States population may be experiencing some form of chronic pain, the disorder is worth looking into. 

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving Blair and the seven surrounding counties in central Pennsylvania.  He takes cases for clients who are experiencing chronic pain as the result of an injury due to the fault of another.  This may include a car accident, slip-and-fall accident, and others.  For more information on his Altoona, PA area firm, please call his office at 814-946-4100 or visit his website at http://www.stoehrlaw.com.

NPR Weighs In On Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is becoming an issue that is swiftly gaining national attention as more physicians are recognizing the disorder as a valid medical condition.  Among the many national news sources that are covering the topic of chronic pain, the National Public Radio is one of them.  NPR recently ran a radio interview covering an area within chronic pain that many patients grapple with:  the fear of addiction to pain medication versus the discomfort of chronic pain.  To read the NPR interview with Judy Foreman, author of "A Nation in Pain", or listen to the audio version, please click here.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving Blair and the seven surrounding counties in central Pennsylvania.  He takes cases for clients who are experiencing chronic pain as the result of an injury due to the fault of another.   For more information on his Altoona, PA area firm, please call his office at 814-946-4100 or visit his website at http://www.stoehrlaw.com.

Potential Genetic Basis For Chronic Pain

Anecdotal information suggests that some members of the population are more sensitive to pain and more susceptible to chronic pain than others. Recently, scientific research suggests that there may a genetic factor that influences the perception and persistence of pain.  To read more about this research, please visit the article here, as originally posted by Medical News Today.  As stated in previous blog posts, the majority of chronic pain begins in the joints and muscles, but then can move into the central nervous system. There is also research that has shown that persistent pain can re-map brain pathways, making pain worsen over time.  To manage this, it is best to consult with your physician as soon as you begin to feel chronic pain symptoms.  Catching the problem early may make treatment easier, less time consuming, and more effective.

Attorney Doug Stoehr takes cases for clients who are experiencing chronic pain due to an accident or injury due to the fault of another.  For more information on his Altoona, PA area practice, please visit his website at  http://www.stoehrlaw.com or call his office at 814-946-4100.

Neurostimulation For Chronic Pain

For people who suffer from chronic pain, they often have tried many different ways to control their symptoms using drugs, medication, and alternative therapies. Unfortunately, these are not always successful.   For some chronic pain patients, there is the option of a neurostimulator.  This stimulator is a small electronic device that is inserted on the patient's spinal cord and helps to regulate nerve impulses to the areas that are affected by the patient's pain symptoms.  To read more about this method, please click on this link to an article by the Fort Wayne-area newspaper, The News-Sentinel.


Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving Blair and the seven surrounding counties in central Pennsylvania.  He takes cases for clients who are experiencing chronic pain as the result of an injury due to the fault of another.   For more information on his Altoona, PA area firm, please call his office at 814-946-4100 or visit his website at http://www.stoehrlaw.com. 

Sleep and Exercise Closely Linked for Chronic Pain Patients

The health benefits of exercise are numerous and well-documented.  However, for those people who suffer from chronic pain, the act of exercising may be more limited and painful than the average person.  Chronic pain sufferers also commonly experience issues relating to sleep quality and the amount of sleep they obtain. 

The Huffington Post highlighted this problem in one of their recent articles.  According to the news piece, a recent scientific journal article had results that suggest that "sleep is associated with physical activity for people with chronic pain, with sleep better predicting levels of next-day physical activity than pain intensity or mood in the morning".  These results suggest that sleep and exercise are closely linked for chronic pain patients, and the value of sleep is important for the output and ability to exercise.  

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving Blair and the seven surrounding counties in central Pennsylvania.  He takes cases for clients who are experiencing chronic pain as the result of an injury due to the fault of another.   For more information on his Altoona, PA area firm, please call his office at 814-946-4100 or visit his website at http://www.stoehrlaw.com. 

For more on the original article from the Huffington Post, please click here. 

Looking for Chronic Pain Resources?

Often, many people who receive a diagnosis of chronic pain are unsure of where to turn for help, information, and resources.  As a result, many websites and support networks have been created to address these needs.  One of the major ones in the United States is the American Chronic Pain Association.  Their online website features resources relating to tracking your pain, managing your medication, and connecting with others to find support.  To visit their website, please click here. 

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer serving Blair and the seven surrounding counties in central Pennsylvania.  He takes cases for clients who are experiencing chronic pain as the result of an injury due to the fault of another.   For more information on his Altoona, PA area firm, please call his office at 814-946-4100 or visit his website at http://www.stoehrlaw.com. 

Cooled Radiofrequency For Chronic SI Pain

An article in the most recent issue of Pain Pathways magazine (Summer 2012) highlighted the new evidence supporting cooled radiofrequency technique.  The original article may be found by reading below.

“Approximately four out of five adults in the United States will experience chronic axial low back pain, the most common cause of job-related disability.  Kimberly-Clark Health Center recently announced successful results of a randomized controlled trial on the use of cooled radiofrequency (RF) to treat sacroiliac (SI) joint pain in the lower back.  The results are published in the March edition of Pain Medicine.

            Cooled radiofrequency (RF) is a minimally invasive treatment for difficult-to-treat spine anatomy.  The SIergy Cooled Radiofrequency System is intended to target and treat the pain-generating nerves in the lower back and buttock region that may be responsible for sacroiliac joint pain.  The treatment approach can greatly reduce low back pain and potentially even eliminate it.

            For more information, visit http://www.kchealthcare.com and visit http://www.painpathways.org to read Winter 2011’s article on SI joint pain through our digital edition.”

            Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer in Altoona, PA that serves the central and western PA regions.  He helps many clients who have chronic pain as a result of an accident due to the fault of another.  For more information on his law practice, please visit his website at http://www.stoehrlaw.com or call his office at 814-946-4100.

Artficial Spinal Disc Procedure

 Back pain, in general, is a problem that is extremely common among adult Americans.  Chronic back pain often stems from this ailment and may lead to years of problems and discomfort.  According to a recent article by American News Report, there is a new procedure available that might help some of these chronic pain sufferers.

In some cases, surgery may be the only option to relieve the symptoms of chronic pain back.  Keeping this in mind, researchers at Brigham Young University have recently engineered an artificial spinal disc.  This disc involves a mechanism that aids in natural spine movement and may help to restore some function in the spine.  The BYU engineers working on the new artificial spinal disc, who tested it on human cadavers, reported results showing that their disc behaves very similarly to normal human spinal discs.  This is a good alternative to the other currently available procedures for chronic back pain.  Presently, the most widely used surgery to aid in back pain is spinal fusion, a surgery with only a 50% satisfaction rate.  In this procedure, the generative spinal disc is replaced with bone to join two adjacent discs. According to the article, the newly-developed artificial BYU disc has been licensed to Crocker Spinal Technologies, which could begin international sales of the device as early as next year.

Attorney Doug Stoehr is a personal injury lawyer specializing in motor vehicle accidents and elder abuse.  To learn more about accident-related chronic pain and possible legal actions, please visit his website.