Last week Stanford University had an event by the Division of Pain Medicine, focusing on back pain. It was pretty much an all day affair, and luckily, the event was recorded on video and posted on their website. You can view the event as well as review the agenda items listed on my previous blog post. Sean Mackey, MD, PhD, who is the chief of the Division, mentioned that low back pain accounts for about 30% of the adult population (18 years and older) in the U.S. who report on the incidence of pain. And to put that in perspective, pain affects about 100 million people in the U.S., and low back pain accounts for the largest percentage of those who experience pain. So low back pain is a big deal in the U.S., perhaps the world, and there’s no question why a higher institute of learning has a center dedicated to pain medicine.
During the introduction, Dr. Mackey mentioned that “management of pain is a team sport”, and thus, involves a multidisciplinary approach. He listed them as:
- Self-Management
- Pharmacologic (Medications)
- Psychological
- Physical/Occupational Therapy
- Procedural/Surgical
- Complementary and Alternative (e.g., Acupuncture)
Even though there were 6 approaches listed, the event focused on non-procedral/non-surgical approaches, with the goal of providing practical information the event attendees and viewers can take home with them and use. I viewed the 1st two subjets, dealing with the pain and brain connection and the psychology of pain. The first segment was very techy and the 2nd segment was more my speed, but you got the idea that the human brain plays a big part in the treatment of back pain. Moreover, it drove home the idea that without a healthy mindset, no matter what kinds of treatment you received for your back pain, it may not help facilitate the healing process. Next time I will discuss Dr. Beth Darnall’s presentation on Pain Psychology, and how your mind can affect back pain.
