Blog

September 30, 2011

A Different Normal

If you suffer from chronic pain, then you are now in the company of 116 million other Americans according […]
August 30, 2011

The Lesson We Can All Take Away From Chronic Pain

First off, I must disclose that I have never taken a business class, always reach for the sports page […]
August 17, 2011

Why Our Approach To Chronic Pain Is Flawed

If you peered over your child’s shoulder while they were doing their homework and saw that they were doing […]
November 23, 2010

Darvon and Darvocet Withdrawn

I imagine that by now many of you have heard the news that pain killers Darvon and Darvocet have […]
October 12, 2010

Feel Better

What does someone in pain really want? I think, deep down, they just want to feel better. That seems […]
August 30, 2010

Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia

Last week The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a study that found tai chi to be an […]
August 10, 2010

Reward, Motivation, and Better Health, Part IV

My latest series of blogs this summer have focused on the neurotransmitter dopamine and its powerful effect on behavior […]
July 22, 2010

Reward, Motivation, and Better Health, Part III

As we continue to delve into our discussion about reward mechanisms and motivation, I thought I would bring up […]
June 14, 2010

Reward, Motivation, and Better Health, Part II

If you recall, I last suggested that we tap into the motivation and reward mechanisms of the brain as […]
June 1, 2010

Reward, Motivation, and Better Health, Part I

My next series of blog posts will look at how the motivation and reward mechanisms of the brain work […]
May 24, 2010

Painful Facts

I am working on a presentation analyzing cost in pain treatment that I will be giving in Las Vegas, […]
May 17, 2010

Get Your Cherries!

Last week I saw this season’s first batch of ripe cherries at my local farmer’s market. In northern California, […]
May 3, 2010

The Momentum of Obesity

“A woman can’t be too rich or too thin” -Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor This week I came across […]
April 26, 2010

Where Does Marijuana Fit In?

Last Saturday finally provided me with a sunny morning without rain or early morning commitments so I used it […]
April 19, 2010

You’re only as Young as Your Back

Last week we looked at a recent JAMA article that showed an unnecessary, costlier, and riskier trend in spine […]
April 15, 2010

No Health, No Wealth

Who is regulating health care, anyway? In Take Charge of Your Chronic Pain I discussed how profitable treating pain […]
April 5, 2010

With Gratitude

I remember coming across the phrase “The attitude of gratitude” in Rhonda Byrne’s hugely successful book and DVD The […]
March 29, 2010

Prefrontal Cortex

This weekend I had the pleasure of doing a book signing at a bookstore that is only a few […]
March 22, 2010

One Fine Saturday

This weekend I had the pleasure of doing a book signing at a bookstore that is only a few […]
March 15, 2010

A New Risk to Add to the List

Last week the American Journal of Medicine published research suggesting that the regular use of over-the-counter (OTC) pain killers, […]
March 8, 2010

Health Care Reform Starts at Home

Many pundits and economists believe that our economy is starting to show the early stages of bouncing back. We […]
March 2, 2010

The Times They are a Changing

In a recent blog, “Upright and Steady,” I extolled the virtues of good balance as part of a long, […]
February 20, 2010

The Healthiest Breakfast You Haven’t Tried

So, what is the healthiest breakfast you haven’t tried? Buckwheat. If you aren’t from Eastern Europe, then my guess […]
February 13, 2010

Happy Valentine’s Day

The theme of love surrounding Valentine’s Day offers us a great opportunity-to eat more chocolate! Showing affection and an […]
February 3, 2010

Upright and Steady

Part of being happy during later years is being able to remain engaged and maintain a sense of independence. […]
January 25, 2010

Satisfaction

Delivering health care, including medical care, is, to some degree a service business with many of the same issues […]
January 17, 2010

Boob Tube or Death Trap?

There you are, glued to your TV set, watching your country in an elimination round soccer match at the […]
January 9, 2010

Ain’t No Cure for the Winter Time Blues

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) just published a study on antidepressants: “Antidepressant Drug Effects and Depression […]
January 1, 2010

Happy New Year, Happy New Decade

My New Year’s Day morning paper presented an article from the Associated Press stating that the “U.S. falls short […]
December 17, 2009

Blog 1

“Take Charge of Your Chronic Pain” comes to you at a pivotal time in our nation’s history. Few are […]