Cannabis (Marijuana) Is A Placebo

"If you’ve tried one of the various formulations of medical cannabis (marijuana) in hopes of easing your chronic pain, you’re far from alone. Treating pain is by far the most common reason offered by the many millions of Americans who use products that contain cannabinoids, the main active components in marijuana.

"However, there’s good evidence that a cannabis placebo — a substance designed to mimic the real thing in appearance, smell, taste, and feel — provides very similar pain relief as a cannabis-based product, according to a new review in JAMA Network Open. But why?"

Click on the link below for the latest research on the effects of this substance on pain. Interestingly, it also appears that "With the exception of opioids, most pain-relieving medications are barely better than a placebo":

Does Cannabis actually relieve pain?

Therapeutic Electrical Stimulation Update

Physical therapists and other practitioners have used electrical stimulation for decades with less-than-stellar clinical results that are not backed up by good placebo-controlled, double-blind studies. Presently there are several internet advertisements for deeper electrical stimulation products claiming research in support of such (an example). Unfortunately, such research in this area is also not of high quality because of the nature of chronic musculoskeletal pain. 

I am a retired physical therapist and can testify that good instruction in science-based stretching and strengthening exercises, as well as posture/activity control, is the gold standard in the management of these types of medical problems. I never found any electrical stimulation device adding to long-term results. In summary, let the buyer beware regarding these "new" products. This article is a good update on the effectiveness of all forms of therapeutic electrical stimulation. This article is a good summary of all treatments for chronic musculoskeletal pain.

The Difficulty Of Treating Children's Pain

"As if things weren’t difficult enough, the AAP Section on Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine has published a clinical report in the September Pediatrics that aims to remind providers that it is “time to say no” to one of the our most popular pain medications: codeine. Sadly, the authors are not raising new concerns. Instead, they are once again pointing out serious problems with this drug, problems we have known about for over a decade that have resulted in deaths and inadequately treated pain."

American Academy of Pediatrics Calls for End to Pediatric Codeine Use…Again

Weather And Pain

"t is nearly 2,500 years since the Greek physician Hippocrates noticed a connection between pain and the weather, but scientists have shown that it may well be true."

Hippocrates' theory linking pain and weather could be right, say scientists

Tylenol And Empathy

I wonder if it was the Tylenol or would the results be the same for any pain-reliever.

When you take acetaminophen to reduce your pain, you may also be decreasing your empathy for both the physical and social aches that other people experience, a new study suggests.