Committee on Pain Management and Regulatory Strategies to Address Prescription Opioid Abuse - National Academy of Sciences

An ad hoc committee will develop a report to inform the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as to the state of the science regarding prescription opioid abuse and misuse, including prevention, management, and intervention, and to provide an update from the 2011 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research, including a further characterization of the evolving role that opioid analgesics play in pain management. The report additionally will make recommendations on the options available to FDA to address the prescription opioid overdose epidemic, from both the individual and public health perspectives, and to otherwise further advance the field.

http://nationalacademies.org/hmd/Activities/PublicHealth/AddressPrescriptionOpioidAbuse.aspx

All Pain Is Not Equal - RELIEF: PAIN RESEARCH NEWS, INSIGHTS AND IDEAS

Thirty-one-year-old Less Henderson recently returned from a week-long hospital stay after her lung collapsed due to endometriosis, a reproductive disease in which the lining of the uterus grows in other parts of the body, causing pain. Though endometriosis usually only affects the pelvic area, in rare cases like Henderson's it can spread further, causing serious and potentially fatal complications.

While Henderson's collapsed lung was addressed quickly and she is now on the mend, she has not always been as fortunate in the health care she's received. Henderson—who is both black and working class—struggled for years to get a diagnosis for her horrible abdominal pain. Instead, she says doctors were quick to dismiss her, often accusing her of exaggerating or fabricating her pain.

More ...

http://relief.news/all-pain-is-not-equal/

National Pain Strategy - NIH

The objectives of the National Pain Strategy aim to decrease the prevalence of pain across its continuum from acute to high-impact chronic pain and its associated morbidity and disability across the lifespan. The intent is to reduce the burden of pain for individuals, their families, and society as a whole.

More ...

https://iprcc.nih.gov/docs/HHSNational_Pain_Strategy.pdf

NIH Pain Consortium - Pain Information Brochures

The National Institutes of Health consists of many different institutes and centers. The following is an index to various NIH publications about pain symptoms, conditions and treatments.

https://painconsortium.nih.gov/News_Other_Resources/pain_index.html

The Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC)

The Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC) is a Federal advisory committee created by the Department of Health and Human Services to enhance pain research efforts and promote collaboration across the government, with the ultimate goals of advancing the fundamental understanding of pain and improving pain-related treatment strategies.

https://iprcc.nih.gov/index.htm

About the Pain Special Interest Group | NCCIH

The PAIN Special Interest Group (PAIN SIG) is comprised of investigators from a number of different institutes and centers at the NIH that are interested in the neurobiological mechanisms underlying pain. Our group is moderated by Drs. Yarimar Carrasquillo, Alex Chesler, and Lauren Chesler and includes students, postdocs, postbacs, staff, investigators, and clinicians. Research areas of interest span from molecular and cellular studies in model systems to clinical studies in both healthy individuals and pain patients. Our goal is to provide a forum where researchers from different backgrounds can openly exchange their ideas and perspectives as well as discuss the latest technical approaches for the study of pain.

https://nccih.nih.gov/research/intramural/sig/painsig

Review Examines Clinical Trial Evidence on Complementary Approaches for Five Painful Conditions | NCCIH

A review of evidence from clinical trials shows that a variety of complementary health approaches—including acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, massage therapy, and relaxation techniques—hold promise for helping to manage pain. The review, conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Painful conditions are the most common reasons why American adults use complementary health approaches, on which they spend more than $30 billion yearly. About 40 million American adults experience severe pain in any given year, and they spend more than $14 billion out-of-pocket on complementary approaches to manage such painful conditions as back pain, neck pain, and arthritis.

The researchers searched the MEDLINE database for randomized, controlled clinical trials published from 1966 through March 2016 and conducted in the United States or including U.S. participants. This approach was chosen because of the particular nature of the U.S. health-care system, which is relevant to "standard care" or "usual care" in trials and also to licensing requirements (where applicable) for complementary therapies.

More ...

https://nccih.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/five-painful-conditions