Month: May 2023

How Symptom Diaries Can Improve Chronic Pain Management

Chronic pain presents complex diagnostic challenges, with comorbid illnesses, behavioral and environmental factors all playing significant roles. Stress, anxiety and depression, all common in chronic pain, can exacerbate physical symptoms (Ray et al., 2016), while factors in the work environment (ergonomics and physical labor) may contribute to chronification. Metabolic diseases (overweight, obesity, diabetes), cardiovascular conditions

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Measuring Quality of Life

Quality of life is considered an important marker within healthcare, particularly as concerns individuals living with chronic disease. Quality of life (QoL) implies a life well-lived: an apt if rather vague descriptor. Given that scientists like to quantify things, the question arises as to what determines quality of life, and what is the best way

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Medication Overuse Headache: How Simple Analgesics can Worsen Headache Symptoms

Most individuals aren’t terribly bothered by headaches, thanks to effective over-the-counter analgesics such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen. However, individuals with episodic and chronic headache, particularly migraine, can be greatly affected, with headaches lasting multiple hours or even days, and resulting in significant disability. While medications such as triptans can effectively treat acute

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