New blog to watch!

If this post is anything to go by, and from the ones I’ve read, it is, then dipping in and out of Science-based medicine is a very good thing.
The authors are respected scientists and doctors who write eloquently and thoughtfully about issues to do with those gray areas between science and [...]

Am I right or just dogmatic?

Even in health care, the loudest voice with the largest opinion can be the most persuasive - even with limited (or selective) use of scientific evidence. Sadly, fads exist in pain management too.
To counter our human biases we need to be critical of all research, and ask some serious questions about accepted practice as [...]

Friday Funny!

And this time it’s on a Friday (in NZ anyway!)

Chronic pain is not a mental illness

In New Zealand at least, obtaining training in pain and pain management is fairly restricted. Two papers specifically on pain and pain management for ‘all-comers’ are run through my Department at University of Otago, Christchurch, but apart from this - I’m not sure of any others at postgraduate level. Occupational therapists have the [...]

Some theory - and how we can put it into practice

Before we start on cognitive behavioural therapy, we need to know what we’re on about - for me in pain management, CBT assumes:

that people are capable of change,
can accept self responsibility for their actions,
that what we think and believe about a situation can affect our emotions and responses, and
that we can implement a whole [...]

MedBlogEN rankings - going up!

For a wonderful list of medical/health-related blogs, you can’t beat MedBlogEN, with a list of over 300 blogs to choose from, all ranked according to a ‘mysterious’ algorithm based on visitor numbers, google rankings and a bunch of other things that I don’t quite understand.
And Healthskills - Skills for Healthy Living - has gone up [...]

A great resource!

After yesterday’s great video (found on YouTube), I spent a little time time skimming through the titles held here at University of California Television. If you click the link you’ll be taken to a list of the titles I found under the keyword ‘Pain’. What an incredible resource!
Some of these are free, while [...]

Resolutions anyone?

I’m an atypical body, I make ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ every year - oh, and keep many (not all) of them!
But I was impressed when I clicked on through to Dr Deb’s blog and saw her take on the resolution thing. Her idea?
REALsolutions!
What a great idea!
Keep them simple, keep them ‘do-able’, keep them healthful.

Eat healthy.

Move [...]

Motivate Healthy Habits

Rick Botelho and his Motivate Healthy Habits site is one of my favourite authors and websites on motivation and self management especially in primary care.
Take a moment or two to read through this site, it gives some of the foundation information on health change for individuals.
I’ve also included a great powerpoint presentation by Rick Botelho [...]

Movember! (shameless plug for men’s health)

If you think back to the dark old ’70’s and all that hair - and shudder - do NOT go to this website!

Men’s mortality is in many parts of the world sadly forgotten - with all the awareness about women’s health, and in particular cervical and breast cancer, we do forget that men also get [...]