Michele Curatolo
Can a procedure lead to permanent relief of chronic pain?
Frequent patient's questions: "Can you do a nerve block or kill a nerve to treat my chronic pain? Can this be a permanent solution"?
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About my blogs
About my blogs
I discuss topics related to pain management in an accessible way for anyone who wants to know more about this fascinating and still poorly understood area of medicine, including health care professionals, patients, and students.
My purpose is solely educational and non-profit. While I aim to make best use of the available scientific evidence, the content of the blogs reflect primarily my personal opinion.
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Michele Curatolo
- Feb 6
- 3 min
Do antidepressants reduce pain or not?
Antidepressants can relieve pain independent of the presence of depression, likely due to their effect on the pain inhibitory system.
130 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Jan 5
- 4 min
Sense and nonsense of biomarkers in pain medicine
Biomarkers are highly needed in pain medicine. However, measures have to fulfill criteria and validation to be biomarkers.
146 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Nov 16, 2022
- 3 min
Placebo for pain: from enemy to friend
The placebo effect relies on patient’s expectation that a treatment will help. It is a welcome way to enhance pain relief.
113 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Oct 24, 2022
- 5 min
Is the distinction between acute and chronic pain meaningful?
The classification of pain into acute (<3 months duration) and chronic (>3 months) lacks scientific support and clinical usefulness.
240 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Sep 15, 2022
- 2 min
Does an injury lead to long-term opioid use?
Acute injury rarely results in long-term use of opioids.
51 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Aug 24, 2022
- 3 min
Chili pepper to treat chronic pain: how does it work?
Why does capsaicin, a constituent of chili pepper, relieve chronic pain?
378 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Jul 20, 2022
- 4 min
Epidural steroids: Long-term improvement, but ...
Epidural steroid injections in older adults: study with 2-years follow-up shows that patients improve, but unlikely due to the injection.
361 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Jul 6, 2022
- 2 min
Acute back pain after osteoporotic fractures: Which medication?
Acute back pain after osteoporotic vertebral fractures is a public health issue. Choosing a medication that limits harm is challenging.
162 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Jun 22, 2022
- 2 min
Neck pain and headache: Can stem from the C1-2 joint
Pain at the upper neck and headache can stem from the C1-2 joint. Steroid injection or surgery can be effective
105 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Jun 8, 2022
- 3 min
Explaining "pain sensitization" to patients
Sensitization of neural pathways is a crucial determinant of chronic pain, and has treatment consequences. How to explain this to patients?
102 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- May 25, 2022
- 3 min
The huge gap between discoveries and availability of effective pain medications
A new research pathway is proposed to translate discoveries of pharmacological targets into effective treatments of pain.
81 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- May 12, 2022
- 4 min
Prognostic nerve blocks: meaningful or meaningless?
Prognostic nerve blocks to predict the effect of a subsequent treatment may be meaningful or not, depending on the nature of the procedure.
392 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Apr 27, 2022
- 2 min
Improve your sleep, mood and physical function, and you may have less pain
In chronic pain, improvement in sleep, psychological and physical functioning may precede reduction in pain.
162 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Apr 13, 2022
- 3 min
Adding a procedure to current treatment of chronic pain
A recent study used a pragmatic approach to demonstrate that adding a hip injection to current treatment improves pain for 6 months.
202 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Apr 6, 2022
- 3 min
Exercise for chronic pain: when patients and health care professionals are not on the same page
Many patients with chronic pain decline therapeutic exercise because it increases pain. Is pain relief the right treatment goal?
99 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Mar 23, 2022
- 4 min
The confusion around "diagnostic" nerve blocks for chronic pain
A patient becomes pain-free after anesthetizing a nerve: does it tell us where the pain comes from?
445 views0 comments
Heather Tick
- Mar 15, 2022
- 4 min
Better nutrition, less pain: Turn your pantry into a potent tool for better health and less pain
"You change your body chemistry each time you eat". Evidence for associations between diet and pain are growing.
164 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Mar 4, 2022
- 4 min
Therapeutic nerve blocks for chronic pain: An unexplored potential
Placebo-controlled studies are unsuited to study therapeutic nerve blocks for chronic pain. More feasible research models are available.
243 views0 comments
Michele Curatolo
- Feb 23, 2022
- 3 min
What does local tenderness say about the origin of pain?
Tenderness evoked by pressure is typically interpreted as a sign of injury causing pain. However, it is of very limited diagnostic value.
164 views0 comments
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