Presented by William C. Becker, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine
Pain is a difficult challenge faced by many patients living with chronic disease. It has an impact on a person’s physical, psychological, and emotional health. In fact, chronic pain is the second most common reason for outpatient visits in the U.S. and is accompanied by enormous health expenditures. Fortunately, scientific understanding of pain is growing — especially in the midst of a national opioid crisis. This webinar includes information about neural pathways involved in pain, explains what “central sensitization” is, discusses the pros and cons of using opioids for pain management, and shares new approaches to pain management.
Fast Facts from the Webinar
1. Our emotions impact pain, and pain impacts emotions
Although pain is initially due to tissue damage, it also triggers emotions such as fear, anger, and grief. As a complex chronic condition, pain cannot be successfully treated without simultaneously addressing physical, mental, and emotional domains.
2. Central sensitization can play a role in acute pain becoming chronic
Central sensitization is a condition of the nervous system that lowers the body’s pain threshold. It contributes to, and may be responsible for, the development and maintenance of chronic pain even after the initial tissue injury is no longer present.
3. Opioids aren’t as effective for chronic pain
Opioids are problematic not only because they are habit-forming and potentially deadly, they are also ineffective for most people with chronic pain.
About the Presenter
William C. Becker, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine.
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This webinar was produced with the Autoimmune and Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes Collaborative Research Group (ASIS CRG). As part of the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, this research group collaborates with stakeholders including patients, caregivers, advocacy groups, providers, and funders early on to move research forward more quickly and more efficiently. Learn more about our work here.
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