Investigate the correlation between the incidence of reported pain and various social and biological characteristics.
Investigate the correlation between the incidence of reported pain and dietary factors including foods, food additives such as dyes, preservatives and other additives.
Investigate the correlation between the incidence of reported pain and environmental exposures including pollution, pesticides and the... more »

Goal: determine the effect of regular and structured exercise on pain levels in individuals with sickle cell disease.
Method: RCT with a group who perform at least 150 mins a week of moderate physical activity eg 30 mins of weight lifting 5days/week
Track daily pain levels using numeric pain rating scale from individuals in the exercise group, and the control. Can also track pain episodes and crises per individual, and... more »

1. Identify patients with a diagnosis of arachnoiditis or low back pain with radiculopathy

2. Examine genetic variants, and gene expression and epigenetic status of respective genes

3. Determine if a genetic relationship among respective patient community

A small randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial is the gold standard for establishing efficacy. The current regulatory status of kratom and access to purified extract may be a problem. Anecdotal evidence, however, would seem to justify an attempt. Access in some jurisdictions may not be a problem, and the promise of efficacy to alleviate chronic pain versus its supposed side-effect profile weighs in favor... more »

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is defined by the hallmark symptoms of chronic pelvic or bladder pain, often accompanied by urgency or frequency of urination. Using data from over 1 million men and women, we will examine the natural history and longitudinal trends of IC symptoms over 10 years in a diverse population that are traditionally underrepresented in IC research. We will also examine the biological, environmental,... more »

A randomized controlled study to determine if the combination of ultra-low-dose naltrexone with an opioid can provide better psychosocial outcomes for chronic pain patients. It would compare the results of treatment with various common opioids both alone and in combination with ultra-low-dose naltrexone. The goal is to see which treatment yields the best psychosocial outcomes and pain relief. Preliminary studies suggest... more »

LBP is the #1 cause of years lived with disability worldwide (GBD 2016), yet little is known about its underlying mechanisms. In standard clinical care, people with very different presentations of LBP are treated the same. Longitudinal survey items related to LBP, and data collection already planned by AoU (surveys + physical measurements + EHR + genomics) can be used to identify meaningful LBP subgroups that are connected... more »

Conduct the Brighton and Brighton screening tests on all pain patients to screen for Ehlers-Danlos. This is especially relevant for fibromyalgia and idiopathic joint pain groups who have not had a diagnosis yet. Goal would be to recognize that this is not a rare disease, and hopefully start screening children to prevent long term chronic pain, as well as getting answers to patients that have historically been neglected... more »

Health benefits of mind-body exercises are 'under-researched' compared to health benefits of aerobic exercises. Many people do not meet the current physical activity recommendations for maintaining health, in particular older adults and individuals with chronic health issues. Thus, it is of high importance to facilitate the potential health effects of mind-body exercises. Funding for well-designed randomized controlled... more »