Kendra Pierre-Louis: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Kendra Pierre-Louis, in for Rachel Feltman. From stubbing your toe to dealing with the occasional headache or sore back, to ...

Most of us — an estimated 8 out of 10 people in the United States — will experience back pain at some point in our lives, and the number of people who describe their pain as chronic has been on the ...

Scientists who study chronic pain have long puzzled over a particular type of scenario: A man and woman get into a car accident and sustain the same injuries. But the woman experiences long-lasting ...

Acute pain can be hard to ignore. It often comes on suddenly and is intense, typically resulting from an injury, illness, or surgery. Acute pain usually lasts less than two to three months, says ...

New research suggests pain is not a simple signal of injury but a process that unfolds across nerves, spinal cord, and brain. Scientists are now targeting earlier points in that pathway, before pain ...

Stress and anxiety can worsen pain by causing muscles to get tense or spasm and by raising levels of the inflammation-inducing hormone cortisol. Plus, pain signals can be dialed up or down depending ...

Foot pain is one of those frustrations people often try to ignore – until ignoring it becomes impossible. “For many, foot pain is something to try to ‘push through,’ but over time, it can impact daily ...

This Journal feature begins with a case vignette highlighting a rare clinical problem. Evidence supporting various strategies is then presented, followed by a review of formal guidelines, when they ...

Chronic pain might quietly push people toward developing high blood pressure—and the more widespread the pain, the greater the danger. A massive analysis of over 200,000 adults uncovered strong links ...

But can technology describe something so personal? How are you feeling? I’m genuinely interested in the well-being of all my treasured Checkup readers, of course. But this week I’ve also been ...

Should I try cannabis for my back pain? It's a question spine surgeon Richard Price says he gets at least several times a day from patients who come into his clinic. When Price finally dived into the ...

EDITOR’S NOTE: Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s new book, “It Doesn’t Have to Hurt,” is available now. Watch “Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: It Doesn’t Have to Hurt.” at 9 p.m. ET on ...