Have you ever had any of your patients say that they don't think physical therapy helps their pain? Or that the physical therapy made their pain worse? It would certainly not surprise me, if you said yes. And in that case, this is definitely is the episode you want to listen to carefully.  And if your answer to my question was no, this is an episode for you too, my friend. Because sooner or later you too will join this elite club with rest of us. However, this episode will give you the...

Pain and mental illnesses coexist, often more than any of other illnesses. Both of them have a profound effect on a child's child’s quality of life, individually.  Now imagine the magnitude of impact  when they co-exist.   In this episode, Dr. Anjana Kundu, with guest speaker Dr. Mirabelle Mattar, a child, and adolescent psychiatrist, discusses the intricate and dynamic relationship between pediatric pain and mental health, likely cause or affect and prognosis for a child with pain in the...

Acute pain may be a protective and adaptive phenomenon, but chronic pain is nothing but damaging and a burden in every way possible and for all involved directly or indirectly. So how do we reduce or can we reduce burden?   Join me in this episode to learn the factors that contribute to chronicity of pain and whether we can prevent it.   Takeaways in This Episode Complexities of pain and its impact for the individuals and the society What differentiates acute from chronic pain and why...

An anesthesiologist or a dentist might tell you that redheads need more anesthesia or local anesthetic. Yet research around their pain perception, tolerance, modulation and response to different pain medications is much more variable and complicated. Join me to learn the recent and emerging evidence about the pain among redheads and what you can do for effectively and safely managing it!

What if you had the lessons from the hindsight AND the foresight while managing children's pain? How would that change your practice? How would that change the outcomes of pediatric pain treatments? These are some of the questions I discuss with Dr. Ross Drake, Specialist Pediatrician and the Director of Palliative Care and Pain Medicine at Starship Children's Health in Auckland, New Zealand. What's more - you can do it during your normal clinical care and in a "RAPID" way!

Pediatric pain has long been and continues to be neglected for many reasons and because of many challenges. In this episode we discuss those factors and more importantly, the way forward to make the paradigm shift, overcoming challenges and recognizing opportunities. Join me in as I appear as a guest, interviewed by Dr. Asha Padmanabhan for my own podcast!

A clinical care visit is like flying a plane. It has to be smooth (charming), safe (thorough) yet efficient and on time! Learn about the elements which allow a clinician to achieve efficiency, satisfaction and success in the clinical encounters in the face of today's changing healthcare priorities with increasing emphasis on value and efficiency in clinical care delivery. Meanwhile the visit times are shorter, required documentation is more eating away the face to face time with your patients.

Rising prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders, contradicting opinions and misconceptions around pain sensitivity and expression among these patients pose unique challenges for clinicians. In this episode, I review the emerging evidence around pain and autism and provide framework for more accurate assessment and effective treatment of pain among these children.

Headache is a presenting symptom in 90% of children after a traumatic head injury and for many it may persist for years. It can be extremely debilitating and difficult to treat, posing several unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Join me in conversation with Blake Windsor, MD a pediatrician with a subspecialty in training for pediatric pain medicine, a board certified headache specialist and Chief of Primas Health Pediatric Pain Medicine.

Postoperative outcomes and success of the interventions is certainly dependent on the analgesia and anesthesia care, but what truly drives the outcomes is a complex interplay of biopsychosocial factors; an alignment between the patients and family's goals and medical as well as surgical interventions. How one goes about achieving that is what this episode is all about!

The survey conducted by the United States Pain Foundation in 2021 shines the light on the state of affairs with pediatric chronic pain, and brings the voices of the children and families affected by pediatric chronic pain to the fore front. It sheds light on the impact of chronic pain, challenges faced by these patients and families and the hope and desires they hold on to!

Understanding nociception is the first and a key factor in understanding the targets for pain control. This episode simplifies these concepts and provides you a solid framework to determine the correct analgesic treatments for your patient's pain.

With mounting evidence to suggest otherwise, it's surprising.....no it's disheartening, that we still consider pain as a symptom of another illness or a result of another unpleasant event. It's time to change that perspective and this episode is designed to facilitate that.

Neonates and infants mount 3-5x stress response seen in older children or adults, resulting in 2-3x mortality. But do those events which you can't or don't have a conscious recall for not have an impact on your personality, psyche and physical being? Hear Dr. Kanwaljeet "Sunny' Anand discuss the pain amongst neonates and infants!

Pain and painful experiences form pivotal memories for children affecting their perception and attitudes towards healthcare. With up to 80% kids presenting with pain as a symptom and often being subjected to procedural pain in the emergency room, it needs to be prioritized, minimized and addressed appropriately, says Samina Ali, MD.

When children are impaired by their chronic pain they DO need intensive treatment. We want them to be a child again and not a chronic pain patient for life.  Says Julia Wager, PhD, an accomplished pediatric pain psychologist and head of research department, at the German Paediatric Pain Center.

Pediatric chronic pain can be extremely disabling, disrupting a child's normal age-appropriate activities, affecting physical and mental health. When a child suffers, the whole family suffers. It consumes them, results in high fiscal burden for them and the society. Julia Wager PhD, an eminent pediatric pain psychologist at the Pediatric Pain Center, Datteln, Germany, shares the impact of Pain Rehabilitation Program on pain, hope and related functional disability.

For decades patients with abdominal pain, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome have been labeled as "faking it" or "all in their head", but in the last decade, research has demonstrated a complex, bidirectional connection between the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal system; Gut-Brain Axis. This complex interplay of the neuroendocrine, immune and parasympathetic nervous systems has provided explanation and ways to treat the pain these patients experience!

Treatment of children's pain is challenging to say the least, and poses additional challenges. Herbs have increasingly become part of the treatment either as a result of the patient/family's beliefs or as part of the multimodal integrative treatments by clinicians. Herbs with their multitude of benefits for pediatric pain patients, also require caution. Hear Dr Dhanu Sant, an Integrative pediatrician and certified herbalist speak to these and offer practical advice for healthcare professionals!

Today everyone sells nutrition; a gas station, an insurance rep, Says Ms. Ashley Koff, an award winning expert dietician. Meanwhile, our training lacks in preparing us for adequate (or any) nutritional advice to our patients. Nutrition has become a fact sheet based afterthought of our medical practice. She simplifies the complex, overwhelming concepts of nutrition and supplements in pediatric pain management, shares her best practices and free nutritional resources for you and your patients.

How do you tell if your patient is experiencing as much pain as they say they are? How do you identify secondary gains and avoid being duped for inappropriate treatment? Join me in this episode to dissect the appearances and look of pain and the framework you can use to do the right thing!

As a doctorate of Traditional Chinese Medicine and one of the finest licensed acupuncturists I've come across, Dr. Clara Cohen shares her personal and professional experiences with acupuncture, focusing pediatric pain and related conditions.

Migraines for children can be all consuming and sometimes treatments, though somewhat helpful for the headache, may cause other impediments to their day to day functioning. Botox has been effective and FDA approved for adult migraine treatment, and now being explored for management of intractable or chronic pediatric migraines. Dr Shalini Shah, MD MBA, shares their clinical experience and research findings, as well as practical aspects of Botox for pediatric migraine management.

Children's pain and comfort is not one person or one team's responsibility. It is the responsibility of everyone in healthcare. Join me in conversation with Neil Schechter, MD, President and CEO of Childkind International, an endeavor to drive a shift in the culture of how we care for children's pain.