StanfordPain
Predicting, preventing, and alleviating pain—while reshaping how the world understands it. Follow for pro-patient insights and research that matters.
- One pain advocate in the room can change an entire conversation. They catch the language doctors miss, flag barriers we don’t see, and remind us where care breaks down in real life. Pain patients and advocates deserve a permanent seat in the national pain conversation.
- We’re looking to follow more creators focused on chronic pain, chronic illness, and disability. Who should we be learning from?
- Your clothes are touching your skin right now, but you probably are not noticing. That is because your nervous system filters what it pays attention to.
- Every second, your body sends many signals to your nervous system (touch, temperature, pressure, pain) Gate control theory explains how some signals are turned up, and others are turned down.
- That is why you feel your shirt when you first put it on. After a while, the feeling fades. Nothing changed in your shirt. Your nervous system decided the signal was not urgent.
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View full threadTreatment often includes physical therapy, psychological support, and neuromodulation. The goal is not to ignore pain. It is to help quiet pain signals when they no longer serve a protective role.
- Physical symptoms of depression & anxiety •Fatigue •Muscle tension •Headaches •Digestive issues •Insomnia or oversleeping •Sexual dysfunction
- One pain advocate in the room can change an entire conversation. They catch the language doctors miss, flag barriers we don’t see, and remind us where care breaks down in real life. Pain patients and advocates deserve a permanent seat in the national pain conversation.
- Lizzie Perez grew up dancing. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome forced her to stop, but pediatric pain care helped her find her way back. stanford.io/3UCUsNx
- CRPS Symptoms •Pain from light touch or even a breeze •Persistent swelling in the injured limb •Skin that feels very hot or cold •Changes in skin color (red, purple, pale) •Hair and nails growing differently •Muscle spasms, tremor or weakness
- Sustainable change happens when we treat pain, not when we shame bodies.
- Facet joints are small joints in the spine, and arthritis in these joints is common. Pain from facet joints doesn’t always stay in one spot—it can spread to nearby areas like the neck, shoulders, back, or legs. This map shows where people often feel facet-related pain, which can explain symptoms.
- Pain worsens sleep 🔁 Poor sleep worsens pain
- 6 Things to Know About IV Dihydroergotamine (DHE) for Severe Headaches 1. What it is Dihydroergotamine (DHE) is a medication that’s been used for decades to treat tough headaches. It works by acting on serotonin and other brain chemicals that affect pain signals.
- 2. How it helps DHE can calm migraine activity and reduce inflammation in the nerves that carry pain. Doctors often use it in the hospital when other headache treatments don’t work.
- 3. What the research shows A review of 15 studies (over 1,200 patients) found that IV DHE often reduces how often and how severely people get headaches. It’s especially helpful for chronic migraine and status migrainosus—a migraine that lasts for days.
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View full threadBottom line: IV DHE is a safe and effective option for certain people with severe headaches that don’t respond to other treatments. With careful monitoring, it can reduce pain and help patients get back to daily life.
- One session. Months of reported improvement. Stanford researchers studied Empowered Relief, a 1-session pain relief skills class, in people with Marfan Syndrome—with promising results. stanford.io/45Jybnd
- There’s no biological reason women should suffer through pain at every stage of life—only a cultural one
- We asked our community: what advice would you give to someone newly diagnosed with chronic pain? Here’s what they shared.
- “There's no shame in requiring pain medication.”
- “Learn to listen to your body and do body scans. “Add ‘rest’ as an item on your to-do list.”
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View full thread“It’s not character failure to have pain.”
- What Physical Therapy Can Do for Chronic Pain -Physical therapists help you move in safe ways -Physical therapy focuses on small, realistic goals with guidance on when to work through discomfort and when to stop -You’ll learn better ways to move, lift, and use your body with less strain
- If the test is normal but the patient is still suffering, the work isn’t done.
- Who might benefit from neuromodulation? Conditions commonly treated with this therapy include: •Back and leg pain •Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) •Nerve pain from surgery, injury, or diabetes •Pelvic or abdominal pain •Neck, shoulder, and facial pain Read on: stanford.io/3XKrsoQ
- The “4 Ps” of chronic pain treatment •Physical therapy •Pharmacology •Procedures •Psychological support
- Believe people living with pain.
