Blog

December 26, 2017

How to Avoid Pain Flares During the Holidays: 5 Tips From a Doctor

The holiday season can be a challenging time for pain management. For many, the transition to colder and more […]
December 26, 2017

A Pain Doctor’s Tips for Getting the Most out of Your Appointment

Are you feeling frustrated every time you see your doctor? Like you aren’t being heard and not getting the […]
September 27, 2017

Where Chronic Pain Hurts the Most

As a doctor who sees firsthand the damage that chronic pain creates in people’s lives, I believe improving how […]
September 27, 2017

Exercise for Pain Relief: How to Establish a Habit That Really Helps

It can feel like a Catch-22: Everyone is telling you need to exercise, but when you’re in pain, exercising […]
July 16, 2017

Can Acupuncture Solve Your Pain Problem?

Don’t be surprised if the next time you see your pain doctor they suggest you go to an acupuncturist. […]
June 12, 2017

4 Reasons to Think Twice About Back Surgery

As you may have read in the news, Tiger Woods is recovering from a recent back surgery – his […]
May 11, 2017

Starting an Opioid Pain Med? Know This Risk Factor

If you’ve seen the regular stream of stories in the media about the “opioid epidemic,” the thought of starting […]
September 19, 2016

When Your Doctor Says No: Tips For Surviving The Opioid Crackdown

To succeed in this new era of painkiller regulation, you will need to be an engaged advocate for your […]
September 19, 2016

Pain and Addiction: A Crisis of Empathy

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his […]
April 18, 2016

Buprenorphine: A Key Ingredient in the Fight to Solve America’s Pain Crisis

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” — Lao Tzu Over the […]
January 20, 2016

Raiders of the Lost Art: Medicine in the Digital Ice Age

Walk into any coffee shop or other public gathering place and what do you see? If your neighborhood is […]
December 10, 2015

6 Things Big Pharma Doesn’t Want You to Know About Painkillers

Perhaps no health problem in America is in bigger need of an infusion of quality care right now than […]
November 10, 2014

Pain Medications: Are You Asking the Right Questions?

I know how emotionally charged the topic of pain medications can be. This is one subject that usually garners […]
August 6, 2014

When It Hurts to Be Touched

Our sense of touch is one of our most basic and fundamental aspects of the human experience. We use […]
July 18, 2014

Epidural Cortisone Shots: Yea or Nay?

Epidural steroid injections have become one of the most commonly used pain treatments in modern medicine. In the U.S., […]
March 25, 2014

The Pain of the Unknown

For many, a big source of anxiety involves living with daily pain but doing so without a clear-cut diagnosis […]
September 11, 2013

Injured and Hurting: Time to Fix How We Treat Pain on the Job

September is Pain Awareness Month, but I can give you 600 billion reasons why we should really call it […]
June 10, 2013

Got Pain? Learn to Love Your Body Again

The pain experience can not only change our view of the world around us, but it also contorts the […]
March 28, 2013

Inspire Healing: Why Lance Armstrong Isn’t All Bad

Last weekend, spring hit my neck of the woods. I live in Los Gatos, Calif., about an hour south […]
December 7, 2012

A Radical Shift to Better Pain Relief

I want to propose a radical shift to how we approach treating chronic pain. In very basic terms, I […]
September 26, 2012

It’s the Health Care, Stupid: As Our Health Goes, So Does Our Economic Recovery

   “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” — Albert Einstein […]
August 21, 2012

How to Recover Like an Olympian — And Finally Understand Men at the Same Time

After finishing up a rousing weekend with of group of my childhood buddies at our annual reunion near the […]
June 9, 2012

NFL Head Injuries: Creating Recovery With Lessons From the Battlefield

Ten years ago, I had an opportunity to observe up close the high-profile life of NFL athletes. A friend […]
April 24, 2012

Regulating Pain Pills: How Do We Decide Who Gets What?

“A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels.” — Albert […]
February 9, 2012

Transforming Pain Relief: The First Steps

Last month, The New England Journal of Medicine published a call to action for a “cultural transformation in the […]
January 11, 2012

Overcome Your Fear and Conquer Your Pain

If you are reading this post, you are probably already well-versed in how chronic pain can interrupt your own […]
January 11, 2012

Conquering Fear Improves Pain Control

If you or a loved one is one of the estimated 116 million Americans with chronic pain, then you […]
December 8, 2011

The ‘Best Kept Secret’ to Understanding Your Health Risks

Pay a visit to a genetic expert and ask what the single most important piece of information is in […]
October 27, 2011

How to Prevent Pain at Work

Preventing pain in the workplace should be an essential part of fighting the rising prevalence of chronic pain in […]
October 4, 2011

What the Michael Jackson Trial Really Says About American Health

Imagine that you are not just wealthy but super rich and incredibly famous. You travel the world, know influential […]