The BRAIN Can be Wrong About PAIN

The BRAIN Can be Wrong About PAIN Dr. Amy Baxter, MD FAAP FACEP, CEO + Chief Medical Officer

Summary: Doctors don't learn much about pain in medical school. Purdue Pharma taught us in the 90's that a pill could fix pain, the goal was pain free, and outpatient opioids aren't addictive. We now know the latter isn't true, but the damage is done: we still believe the first two. Instead, new fMRI data shows us pain is mostly what we EXPECT to feel, and is a mix of physiology, fear, and control. The brain can be wrong about pain, and it can be overruled, and it can be tricked a little with some brain "connectome" hacks.

In case it's a big deal, wanted to give you the chance to get dibs on a podcast if your listeners would like this. On our website we will be focusing on appropriate post-surgical home pain relief, opioid use disorder risk factors, and the research on how exercise and ignoring chronic pain work from a neurobiological standpoint.