Despite increases in the overall use of opioid drugs to relieve severe pain, black and Hispanic patients remain significantly less likely than whites to receive these pain-relievers in emergency rooms, according to a new national study.

A 20-minute evening back massage may help relieve pain and reduce anxiety following major surgery when given in addition to pain medications, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Scientists have demonstrated a new technique for detecting a painful nerve condition known as neuropathy, which affects millions of people with diabetes and many other patients as well.

One way to alleviate the pain of banging your shin while on a hike is to encounter a grizzly bear—a well-known phenomenon called stress-induced analgesia. Now, researchers have elucidated a key mechanism by which the stress hormone noradrenaline—which floods the bloodstream during grizzly encounters and other stressful events—affects the brain’s pain-processing pathway to produce such analgesia.

A new study finds significant racial differences in the risk of pain related to metastatic breast cancer. An analysis by Dr. Liana Castel of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues found that non-whites experience poorer pain control among women with this disease.

Relaxation in large, sound- and light-proof tanks with high-salt water­floating­is an effective way to alleviate long-term stress-related pain. This has been shown by Sven-Åke Bood, who recently completed his doctorate in psychology, with a dissertation from Karlstad University in Sweden.

The unexplained pain experienced by patients with fibromyalgia is the result of a mismatch between sensory and motor systems, new research suggests.

Watching comedy shows helps children tolerate pain for longer periods of time, according to a study by UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the nonprofit organization Rx Laughter.

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center may have solved the mystery surrounding the healing properties of gold – a discovery they say may renew interest in gold salts as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

A new system under development by a team of researchers at the University of Iowa will help children better cope with pain during difficult medical procedures.

Today, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) has declared 2008 the Global Year Against Pain in Women to draw attention to the significant impact of chronic pain on women and the need for more effective care. Lack of awareness of pain issues affecting women and gender disparities in treatment and research contribute to the suffering of millions of women.

The opioid system controls pain, reward and addictive behaviors. Opioids exert their pharmacological actions through three opioid receptors, mu, delta and kappa whose genes have been cloned (Oprm, Oprd1 and Oprk1, respectively).