Archive for pain
Nerve block and a way out of pain after surgery
If she hadn’t dislocated her knee severely when she was 13, Paige Thornton probably wouldn’t have such strong feelings about pain. But most teenagers haven’t gone through an experience like hers: two surgeries at a hospital outside of Boston followed by weeks of agonizing pain and a year and half struggling to walk. Blocks use ... Read More
‘Worth the trip’: Aiden and his family found help for chronic pain in Boston
Aiden Kozak loves playing volleyball — and he’s good at it. He was even recently named one of the top 50 student volleyball players on Long Island. It’s a huge change from four years ago, when walking was so painful that he relied on a wheelchair. That wasn’t always the case. Until he was 12, ... Read More
A bio-inspired approach to delivering local anesthetics
Site 1 sodium channel blockers such as tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin are small-molecule drugs with powerful local anesthetic properties. They provide pain relief without toxic effects on local nerves and muscles, and are an attractive alternative to opioids. But injected by themselves, the anesthetics can easily float away, causing severe systemic toxicity. Encapsulating these drugs in ... Read More
Surgery for Chiari malformation: “I was just happy to have an answer”
Abby Buckley loves being active, whether that means hiking, cycling, or playing sports like javelin, shotput, and discus. But in eighth grade, a bad concussion sidelined her — and led to an unexpected diagnosis. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan showed that she didn’t just have a concussion. She also had a Chiari malformation, a ... Read More
Boston Children’s post-COVID clinic cares for those with lasting symptoms
One teenager complains of chronic muscle pain. Another child feels too exhausted to go to school or play sports. Still another can’t shake the feeling of “brain fog” — memory and cognition challenges. Despite their different symptoms, all three patients have one thing in common: They’ve all had COVID-19, and they’re all experiencing lingering symptoms ... Read More
Interventional techniques help Molly thrive with chronic pain
Molly McGowan loves baking, sewing, and taking daily walks in the woods with her goldendoodle, Cooper. But Cooper isn’t just any pet. He’s her service dog and a significant source of support. “I credit him with helping me get up and move every day,” she says. It isn’t always easy. For Molly, pain has been ... Read More
Chronic headaches in kids: How a psychologist can help your child cope
For many young people, the pain of chronic daily headaches can be compounded by the concern that providers aren’t taking them seriously. Defined as headaches that occur at least 15 days per month for six months or more, chronic daily headaches can be so difficult to manage that some patients may feel that their pain ... Read More
Treating chronic pain virtually: A telehealth success story
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced shutdowns in March 2020, many clinicians found themselves faced with a whole new challenge: conducting much of patient care from their computers. Although telehealth was already a part of some physicians’ practices, others have had to learn how to adapt existing clinical skills to virtual platforms. But there have been ... Read More
No longer just ‘getting through the day’: Addressing Lucie’s chronic pain
Lucie Robert had always been an engaged and active kid: At just 10 years old, she loved Nordic skiing, dancing, and playing the cello. Yet she was also prone to injury, sometimes on crutches because of minor twists and sprains. Even after a series of minor dislocations led to a diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) ... Read More
Pain neurons activate immune cells, opening new treatment possibilities
For a long time, pain and inflammation were thought to be two separate biological responses. But new research by Boston Children’s Hospital and international collaborators suggests that the same sensory neurons that produce pain also trigger inflammation. And they do so by activating cells of the immune system, a relationship never described before. This interaction ... Read More