THURSDAY, Feb. 10, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Proposed changes to voluntary federal guidelines for prescribing opioid painkillers emphasize that doctors should first try other treatments for acute and chronic pain. The non-opioid treatment options suggested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention include prescription medications like gabapentin andContinue Reading

FRIDAY, Jan. 28, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Physical therapy for knee arthritis tends to cost patients more out-of-pocket and involves a lot more hassle than a quick steroid shot to soothe an aching joint. But in the long run, physical therapy is at least as cost-effective as steroid injections andContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 26, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Belly fat is usually unwelcome, but new research suggests it may actually be good for something: relief from foot pain. A small pilot study suggests that an injection of a patient’s own fat cells can help ease the often-excruciating heel pain brought onContinue Reading

THURSDAY, Jan. 20, 2022 (HealthDay News) — If the sound of a dental drill sends shivers up your spine, you’re likely in good company: Finnish researchers say that one of every two adults fear the dentist at least a little, while one in 10 are very afraid. But the researchersContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 19, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Even if you don’t have side effects from your COVID-19 vaccine, it’s likely still working to protect you, a reassuring new report shows. Many people who receive the mRNA COVID vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna experience body aches and fatigue that indicate theContinue Reading

FRIDAY, Dec. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Recovery from heart surgery can bring some pain. But a new study suggests patients don’t need potentially addictive prescription opioids to control that post-op discomfort. “This study shows that discharge without opioid pain medicine after cardiac surgery is extremely well tolerated by someContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 15, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Couples struggling to conceive a child through in vitro fertilization (IVF) sometimes are offered an often-painful procedure known as “scratching the womb” as a desperate last hope to get pregnant. As many as one-third of IVF clinics offer the practice in Australia, NewContinue Reading

TUESDAY, Dec. 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Pandemic lockdowns may have led fewer Americans to seek pain treatment last year, but folks who did seek help had higher-than-usual odds of receiving dangerous opioid painkillers, a new study says. And that could lead to a worsening of the opioid epidemic, researchersContinue Reading

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People who are prescribed opioid painkillers after receiving a heart pacemaker or defibrillator may be at risk for opioid abuse — and the higher the initial dose, the greater the risk, according to a new study. “The significance of this study is toContinue Reading