A recent study compared the efficacy of opioids with nonopioid pain treatments in patients with chronic back pain and hip or knee osteoarthritis. After 12 months, researchers found that treatment with opioids was not superior to treatment with nonopioid medication, with only minor differences in patients’ functional responses to the medications…
Rheumatologists spend so many years treating the same patients, sometimes they start to feel like family. But for some doctors, it’s more than a feeling. The specialty attracts its fair share of relatives who can compare rheumatic notes, discuss complex cases and provide a built-in resource for advice. Brothers. Cousins. Fathers and daughters. In-laws. Husband…
(Reuters Health)—The U.S. spends about twice what other high-income nations do on healthcare, but has the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rates, a new study suggests. More doctor visits and hospital stays aren’t the problem. Americans use roughly the same amount of health services as people in other affluent nations, the study…
(Reuters Health)—Acetaminophen, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are better than opioids at easing the intensity of chronic pain in the back, knees or hips, a U.S. experiment suggests. And opioids are no better than these other drugs at reducing how much pain interferes with daily activities, such as walking, working, sleeping or enjoying…
The demonstrated connection between persistent effusion-synovitis and cartilage damage in certain osteoarthritis (OA) patients has implications for targeted treatment that updates previous OA treatment parameters…
With the aid of increasingly sophisticated neuroimaging technology, research into how the brain activates and changes in patients with chronic pain is delivering fascinating information that will hopefully pave the way to tailored, individual treatment of chronic pain. Over the past several years, data from neuroimaging studies have provided a new understanding of what occurs…
With the support of its membership, the ACR publishes clinical practice guidelines in multiple disease areas based on the best available clinical and scientific data. These aim to support health professionals treating rheumatology patients to give the best possible care. Like any set of medical guidelines, ACR guidelines are based on evidence of several different…
When Marc McClintock first began experiencing back pain, he chalked it up to the rigors of his racing career. For more than 36 years, Mr. McClintock has built and raced stock cars, high-powered race vehicles that compete on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. “I live in a commercial building, with my residence on…
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, experts discussed improving bone health in the U.S., gave tips on bone health disorders in pediatrics and reviewed new translational science findings for joint conservation in early osteonecrosis. E. Michael Lewiecki, MD, director of the New Mexico Clinical Research & Osteoporosis Center in Albuquerque, N.M., called…
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 Thieves Market, held Nov. 6 at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, rheumatologists from around the world presented patient cases to an audience of colleagues, who then voted via text messaging to choose the cases they felt were most perplexing or intriguing. The winner received a free 2018 Annual Meeting registration, and the…