Managing Chronic Back Pain Through Mindfulness
A new study finds that mindfulness can be an effective treatment option for back pain. Dr. Madhav Goyal, a physician in Northern California and an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine hypothesizes that it allows a patient to detach from the pain. One of his patients "still has the chronic pain, but he was dancing with it rather than fighting with it, and that made all the difference for him."
KPCC:
Is Mindfulness Catching On As A Treatment For Chronic Pain?
What if there was a way to reduce back pain just by using your mind? A new study says that's possible. The study, published this week in JAMA, finds that the practice of mindfulness can be an effective treatment option for chronic back pain. (Plevin, 3/23)
In other public health news —
KQED:
Like Alcohol, Heavy Pot Use Linked To Economic, Social Problems
Persistent, heavy use of marijuana is associated with economic and social problems in adults, according to an international study led by researchers at UC Davis. (Aliferis, 3/23)
KQED:
Hip-Hop Pioneer Phife Brought Attention To Diabetes
Rapper Phife Dawg, of the iconic group Tribe Called Quest, is continuing to raise awareness around diabetes in his death, as he did in life, throughout his music career. The rapper’s family confirmed Wednesday that Phife died at age 45 at his home near Antioch due to complications resulting from diabetes, sparking a wave of disease-related tributes on social media. (Dembosky, 3/23)