Ted Talk on Chronic Pain

[Cora]

Just want to share this TED talk on chronic pain with you all





http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ellio ... _pain.html



My best, Cora

[Lernica]

This video must have gone viral since my sister already sent it to me! Interesting talk, good presenter, but not alot of new info for us veterans of chronic pain. Wouldn't be nice if we could all turn cartwheels too after three months of intensive drug therapy!

[Emily B]

I thought this was a good video. Easy to understand without "dumbing it down".

We've talked a lot on this forum about cross-talk of nerves and how pain spreads so far from the point of injury or entrapment. This video helps explain that.

Thanks for posting it,

Emily B.

[Cora]

Well, the TED talks are well known talks that go viral and I think that given it was a TED talk it will therefore reach a broad audience. Here is my take on why it is valuable 1) it is short and gives a good overview and does address chronic pain as it's own disease entity, which in some cases it is, some, not all. 2) the fact that the presenter was a pediatric faculty person has impact in that it takes away some of the cynicism directed at adults with chronic pain and engenders empathy 3). It's a good video that can give a brief overview that lay people can understand, yet professionals can be encouraged to think about the paradigm shift a bit and perhaps seek out more information. Coming from a Stanford Faculty member, again from a pediatric viewpoint, has some merit and is a new take on chronic pain.

So, pass it on!

Cora

[ezer]

Thanks for posting. It is a very interesting video. Dr.Krane is a very good speaker. Does anybody on the forum experience discoloration of limbs like that young woman on the video?

[Lernica]

Does anybody on the forum experience discoloration of limbs like that young woman on the video?

I knew someone who started off with a neuroma on the ball of her right foot and (as in the video) the swelling and discoloration progressed up her leg and then down her left leg so that she became totally incapacitated in both legs and in unremitting pain. It seems quite unbelievable but I've seen it with my own eyes. This woman refused to see a pain specialist because she thought she would just be prescribed drugs instead of addressing the cause of the pain. But then the pain took on a life of its own. The last I heard from her she had not left her apartment for eight months and had yet to see a pain doctor.

[Violet M]

Excellent video, Cora. I think the best part is that researchers are starting to focus on stopping the disease process itself rather than just focusing on crude methods such as masking the disease with pain medications. I just hope that some people who watch it don't get the idea that if you don't get well like that girl did there is something wrong with you psychologically.

[helenlegs 11]

Interesting video Cora,
I saw a programme a few months back (BBC,UK) that was highlighting similar problems. One person had similar symptoms as the young girl in the vid but NO visible signs. A Doctor placed some weird sci fi style contraption on her head and using transcranial magnetic stimulation targeted areas in the brain responsible for pain (or to the places she felt pain . . . not sure now) Anyway it worked instanly, her pain dissappeared.
From what I remember she needed repeats of this transcranial magnetic stimulation which helped her nerves be 're-educated' and work normally again.
This is a highly respected science programme btw (Horizon, the secret life of pain) and you could tell the woman wasn't acting in any way. There are more trails being held for this technique in London in June, so there may be more developments from that too.
Take care,
Helen