Pain

In the first study of its kind, scientists have found that swimming can provide relief from chronic low back pain. The trial suggests this exercise is clinically effective for treating this hard-to-target condition.

Dipa Kamdar/Kingston University/The Conversation

The US Drug Enforcement Administration will temporarily classify an over-the-counter supplement likened to heroin as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, in an effort to counter an emerging health crisis across the country.

A new treatment has shown promise in reducing migraine pain with targeted ear acupuncture, opening the door to therapy that could be used as a complementary procedure alongside existing medication prescribed to those with the debilitating condition.

An opioid drug with a low risk of addiction and respiratory depression has emerged as a promising candidate for treating chronic pain and pruritus, a condition that compels people to scratch their skin. And it's already on the market.

A tool long used to probe neural circuits in the lab is now being floated as a new way to treat human patients. The technique uses light to turn specific neurons on or off, and it could be used to treat everything from chronic pain to epilepsy.

In a major brain science breakthrough, researchers discovered a nerve signaling mechanism that takes place outside the cell, flipping on a 'pain switch.' This could shed light on a path to safer pain medication without the usual side effects.

Researchers in Switzerland have stuffed a bunch of chips and sensors into socks to help people who suffer from some of the worst symptoms of diabetes – chronic pain and a loss of sensation in the feet that make it hard to walk.

Pain is hard to measure. One person’s “ouch” is another’s agony. Now, scientists say they’ve found a better way to assess pain: putting a price on it. By translating pain into dollars, they’ve created a more accurate, comparable way to measure suffering.

The first-ever neuroimmune modulation implant has been approved for people with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. It's a potentially life-changing technology that zaps chronic pain with daily one-minute electrical pulses to the vagus nerve.

People with fibromyalgia will soon have access to a new drug that treats the chronic pain condition's most elusive trigger: Poor sleep. Tonmya, a non-opioid under-the-tongue tablet, is the first FDA-approved drug for fibromyalgia in more than 15 years.

Scientists have developed a non-opioid oral painkiller known as ADRIANA, the world's first α2B-adrenoceptor antagonist – which hasn't been targeted for analgesics before. It's provided powerful pain relief without sedation or risk of addiction.