Overcoming Pain

Why people experience chronic pain, and the power they have to de-intensify it.

Dr. Mark Borigini is a board-certified rheumatologist who has devoted his career to treating, and training others to treat, a wide variety of illnesses that cause chronic pain and disability. See full bio

December 27, 2008

Fibromyalgia and the Courts

There is a lot of debate as to whether there is such a thing as "secondary" fibromyalgia due to some sort of trauma. Often, the trauma is the result of a fall, or a car accident. And such "post-traumatic" fibromyalgia patients are more severely affected, with more pain-and are therefore more difficult to treat. Read More

December 15, 2008

Waking Up To Insomnia

One cannot emphasize enough the importance of sleep in reducing the severity of chronic pain. Sleep has been shown in fibromyalgia studies to be so important in reducing the pain fibromyalgia patients experience. The lack of sleep appears to contribute to the misery restless legs syndrome (RLS) patients experience. Read More

December 8, 2008

Did the Marlboro Man Die in Vain?

Many years ago the tobacco industry was told to cease and desist: No more advertising on television for cigarettes. The consumer was being endangered.

And so we all lost that ride-along on the plains with that steady, strong cowhand, cigarette dangling from the lower lip as he swaggered across our television screens.

December 1, 2008

Deformity, Depression and Disability—The Chain of Events that Must be Broken

Obviously, poorly controlled rheumatoid arthritis can lead to deformities of the joints, particularly the hands and feet. This in turn could lead to a poor self-image, which in turn could lead to feelings of inadequacy and depression. Read More

November 24, 2008

Reefer Redux: Update on Medicinal Marijuana

In a prior post, the benefits and risks (from both the criminal and clinical viewpoints) of therapeutic marijuana (cannabis, to the scientists) were discussed. Marijuana's euphoric effects seem to have relegated it, in the minds of the representatives of the judicial branch of this country, to the status of something solely for those pain sufferers who have difficulty with reality.

But that may be changing.

November 17, 2008

TMJD: The Gnashing of Teeth, The Painful Face of Fibromyalgia

It is rather common for patients to complain of suffering chronic fatigue along with all the pain of fibromyalgia, but it seems to me that too often perhaps doctor and patient neglect to discuss the pain of Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJD), which is also seen commonly in fibromyalgia patients. Read More

November 10, 2008

The Chronic Pain of Battle: Will There Be a “Gulf War Syndrome” for Veterans of the Current Iraq and Afghanistan Wars?

In virtually all wars there are a number of participants with unexplained symptoms. Such complaints usually involve fatigue, non-specific gastrointestinal complaints, and muscle and joint pain. With Veteran's Day tomorrow, it is a time to not only thank the men and women who serve, but also an opportunity to wish them the best when they return from the far corners of the earth. Read More

November 3, 2008

Update on Fibromyalgia

The sessions on fibromyalgia were rather popular at last week's American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting in San Francisco. One session I attended began at 8:00 one morning; by 8:10, the rather generous tray of croissants had been reduced to two, and one of those was missing ¼ of its original self, most likely the victim of one of our more calorie-conscious ACR members. Read More

October 20, 2008

When Psychology Trumps Percocet

It is not unusual that a patient with chronic pain finds it more than a little difficult to find a physician who has empathy for the patient with chronic pain. However, even if the patient with chronic pain discovers a physician who understands and cares, that does not necessarily accomplish a significant amount in terms of helping the patient. Read More

October 13, 2008

The bear-market overshoot and why it hurts so much

As we have recently watched the media reports of the stock market declines throughout the world, we all repeatedly hear references to physical discomfort. We hear of the pain of investors on Wall Street. Read More

Self-Help Basics

Most of us have things about ourselves we wish we could improve. Lasting change is difficult—many of our habits are deeply ingrained, and certain aspects of ourselves, such as core personality attributes, may be immutable. But many more things can be changed.

Go to the Self-Help Basics page for more on Self-Help including:

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