Medical Frontiers

Easing Chronic Pain Through the Brain (2022x5)

Air date: Mar 21, 2022

A man with pain in his arm had surgery twice, but it worsened to the point where he had to take 50 pills a day. After 6 months of treatment by a Japanese anesthesiologist who is also a chronic-pain expert, his pain almost disappeared, and he no longer needed medication. The doctor says chronic pain is caused by abnormalities in 2 functions of the brain -- the pain-suppressing system and the reward system. We explain the mechanism and the secret to treating the condition.