On chronic pain
About this episode
This episode explores the complexities of chronic pain, its management, and the implications of the opioid crisis.
Pain is probably the oldest problem in medicine. It’s the way our bodies tell us that something is wrong here . But pain has long been considered a symptom . So when medicine can’t find what’s wrong, or when medicine can’t fix the pain, well, that’s usually the end of the story. And that’s left a lot of people with chronic pain suffering in silence. In this episode, we learn why pain is one of the great mysteries of medicine - one of the most challenging conditions to diagnose, to measure, and to treat successfully. We explore why the worthy effort to bring pain into the light inadvertently created what may be the most devastating social crisis (ahem, opioid epidemic) of the last century. And we look at a new pain medicine - Journavx - which is not approved for chronic pain (yet) but has a lot of people hoping for a path to peace without addiction. Sources for this episode [1] "Wrestling With Pain:" John J. Bonica, MD. Autobiography (1987) The International Symposium on Pain Analgesia : Dr. John J. Bonica recounts his life as a "wrestling match" against medical indifference to establish the multidisciplinary approach to pain therapy. [2] Oral History Interview with John J. Bonica…
People in this episode
Host: Thomas Goetz
Topics covered
- chronic pain
- pain management
- opioid epidemic
- medical mystery
- treatment challenges
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: International Symposium on Pain, Raven Press
Products: Journavx
Books & works: Wrestling With Pain
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