Chronic Pain

Video Harvard University

Addressing Symptom Burden in Patients with Cardiac Arrhythmias
A Smart Approach in a 75 Y.O. Woman with Paroxsymal Atrial Fibrillation

Presenters: Michelle Dossett, MD, PhD, MPH; E. Kevin Heist, MD, PhD

In this Grand Rounds clinical case presentation, Drs. Dossett and Heist, from Massachusetts General Hospital, presented a case of a woman with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation who participated in a Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Program at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine and discussed the role of resiliency tools for patients with cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation.

Pain and Opioid Management in Veterans in Primary Care
Evidence, Lessons Learned, and Future Directions in the Use of Collaborative and Integrated Care Approaches

Karen Seal, MD, MPH is a professor of medicine and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. She is based at the San Francisco VA Health Care System (SFVAHCS), where she is director of the Integrated Care Clinic for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and director of the Integrated Pain Team (IPT) Clinic. 

Video Harvard University

Tai Chi for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain

In this Integrative Medicine Grand Rounds research presentation, Dr. Wang reviews the current body of knowledge regarding  Evidence-Based mind-body medicine  treatments. The focus is on the therapeutic benefits of Tai Chi for chronic musculoskeletal pain and symptom management, as well as strategies for implementing complementary approaches into clinical practice.

Click to watch full video.

Video Harvard University

Drs. Langevin and Wayne panel discussion “Minding the Gaps in Medical Research”
MIT Media Lab

Presenters: Helene Langevin, MD and Peter Wayne, PhD

A “side effect” of medical specialization and scientific reductionism is that our understanding of cross-system connections in human health and disease is remarkably limited. This affects the ability of medicine to care for the whole patient. Research at the Osher Center draws on systems biology frameworks from both modern science and non-conventional healing traditions to inform a more integrated model of health and health care.

Video Harvard University
Stretching, Connective Tissue, Chronic Pain, and Cancer

Stretching, Connective Tissue, Chronic Pain, and Cancer

Dr. Helene Langevin visits UCSF, presenting on the importance of connective tissue in the body and its link to the immune system. She talks about recent findings on the effects of stretching on inflammation and fibrosis and the the relevance of these findings to chronic pain and cancer. Dr. Langevin is the director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Easing the Pain: Innovative and Effective Approaches to Managing Pain

Easing the Pain: Innovative and Effective Approaches to Managing Pain

Pain is common in the setting of serious illness. Dr. Christine Ritchie, UCSF distinguished professor, explains that it is a complex experience influenced by biology, environment and one’s emotions and cognitions. While there are many effective medicines for pain, they also have significant side effects. A holistic approach includes pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches to pain with inputand support from an interdisciplinary team.

Video University of California, San Francisco
The War on Bugs: Antibiotic Use and Co-Existence with the Microbial World

The War on Bugs: Antibiotic Use and Co-Existence with the Microbial World

Antibiotics are considered a miracle of modern medicine our “magic bullets” that kill harmful microorganisms and spare our bodies in the war against infection. Conan MacDougall explains that the story is much more complex. Most of the bugs that would do us harm usually co-exist with us on our skin, in our gut and in our cells themselves. The indiscriminate killing of bacteria by antibiotics and disinfectants may deprive us of nutrients and deny our immune system the “training” it needs to distinguish self from non-self leading to an increase in autoimmune diseases.

Healthy Family: The Integrative Medicine Approach to Supporting Healthy Children

Healthy Family: The Integrative Medicine Approach to Supporting Healthy Children

Mini Medical School for the Public Presented by UCSF Osher Center 

Presenter: David Becker, MD, MPH

Dr. Becker is Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. He works with children and families to develop integrative approaches to care in the primary care setting, and for children with chronic pain and other medical and bio-behavioral conditions.