Authors: Loy Daniel Strawn, Jr., MD, ResidentKyle Glasser, MD, FellowAlethia Sellers, MD, CMQ, Associate Professor Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative MedicineThe University of Alabama at Birmingham, Heersink School of Medicine Introduction: The human...

Timothy B Sonnier President/CEO LMC would like to thank the Southern Pain Society and Dr. Murphy for letting us be a part of the Southern Pain Conference in New Orleans for the last 2 years. The educational material that we have acquired from this relationship has...

Barry Straus, MD, JD What are the top legal risks you need to consider when practicing pain medicine? Different legal risks require different strategies for risk management. The top risks are not necessarily malpractice and regulatory. This talk will go over the legal...

Ann Quinlan-Colwell, PhD, RN_PMGT, AHNBC There are numerous non-modifiable factors that contribute to or increase painful experiences. The following abstract is for a Southern Pain Society presentation that addresses one important and generally modifiable factor that...

Lawrence Robbins, M.D. Clinical Case Summary Description of the spells: The patient is a 58 year old man who suffered a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) 4 years earlier. He was struck on the right frontal area in a motor vehicle accident. He experienced...

Barry Straus, MD, JD This is the first in a series on the legal aspects of prescribing controlled substances. The series will cover federal and state issues regarding prescribing controlled substances. Controlled substance prescribing is regulated by both federal and...

Thomas Davis, MD  The new year brings about reflections of our past year and goals for the next. Just as many of us have personal goals for the new year, we at the Southern Pain Society (SPS) have new goals. As we have since 1989 we are planning this year’s...

Barry Straus, MD, JD This is the first in a series on the legal aspects of prescribing controlled substances. The series will cover federal and state issues regarding prescribing controlled substances. Controlled substance prescribing is regulated by both federal and...

Authors: Darien McNeill, MD, ResidentJason Schroeder, MD, ResidentBrea Willeford, DO, FellowAlethia Sellers, MD, CMQ, Associate Professor Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative MedicineThe University of Alabama at Birmingham, Heersink School of Medicine...

Lawrence Robbins, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurology, Chicago Medical School Case #1: Bipolar, Migraine, Chronic Daily Headache (CDH), IBS Caitlin (28 y.o.) has had depression since age 14, finally diagnosed at age 26 as the mild end of the bipolar spectrum (Other...

Larry Robbins, M.D. Associate Professor of Neurology, Chicago Medical School. Professor of Research, DMU College of Osteopathic Medicine.  Private practice in Riverwoods, Ill.  lrobb98@icloud.com Genesis Mejias, M.D. The Patients and People: Part 1 consisted of the...

Casey Murphy, MD, FAAPMR, DAAPM Background: Radiofrequency Nerve Ablation (RFA) has been used to treat spine joint pain for more than two decades. There have been no recent studies reviewing efficacy and side effects of multiple repeat RFA.1-3 Objectives: To determine...

Casey A. Murphy, M.D., F.A.A.P.M.R., D.A.A.P.M. Introduction: This article will review interactions of a new diabetic weight loss drug with monitored anesthesia (MAC) care during interventional pain management procedures. Procedures across the country are being...

Larry Robbins, M.D. Associate Professor of Neurology, Chicago Medical School. Professor of Research, DMU College of Osteopathic Medicine. Private practice in Riverwoods, Ill. Genesis Mejias, M.D. In the beginning: We started out small in 2017: 1 patient, 1 chart, and...

Wilkinson, A.J., Ege, E., Osborne, A., Driver, L., Chai, T.  Abstract The management of head, neck, and facial pain due to oncologic origin in patients is difficult and often undertreated. Many patients experience pain refractory to common treatment modalities, both...

Wilkinson, AJ; Osborne, AT; Kovitz, CA., Chai, T; Huh BK  Abstract The performance of any neuraxial procedure carries an inherent risk of neurologic damage. Bleeding is of great concern in these procedures, as occult spinal epidural hematoma formation in these...

Harry J. Gould, III MD, PhD It has been more years than I care to admit since I graduated from medical school. As most of us have realized, with time, advances are made, with experience, skills are refined and as practitioners, we adapt to change and challenge and improve in our ability to care for patients. An unfortunate corollary to the essential fine-tuning of the evolving practitioner, especially in specialty […]

Lawrence Robbins, MD and Hanah Alley, MD (originally published in Medicine Connections, 2021 vol.1, issue 2: a journal of the World Headache Society) Abstract Introduction: This was a small open label study designed to determine efficacy of helminth egg therapy in...

ANA2021's Virtual Annual Meeting is set for October 17-19 with an Opening Symposium on October 16 and registration is now open! All full registrations include access to the ANA2021 Meeting Recordings package, ensuring you won’t miss out on the latest neurological...

Lawrence Robbins, MD Individuals suffering from chronic pain often have psychiatric comorbidities. For instance, among those with chronic migraine approximately 9% fit into the bipolar spectrum. (1) This article discusses a representative case of a patient with...

It is with deep sadness that we recognize the life and contributions of  John Satterthwaite, MD who transitioned from this earthly world last month.  John’s perspective on the history and devotion to the mission of SPS were priceless. Many have no doubt that the SPS would not exist today it were not for the careful nurturing and stewardship of John during the last 34 years […]

Dr. Hu Rosomoff, the founding President of SPS, would take any opportunity to speak during each Annual and Board meeting until his health prevented him from attending.  Hu was a veritable fountain of clinical wisdom, as well as a provider of historical perspective into the Society.  Now, as the “Old Guy”

A member of our Board of Directors, Dr. Joseph Tramontana, a Clinical Psychologist, has been nominated and is running un-opposed for the position of President-elect of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH). His term will begin March 2021 and will transition...

Last year we began planning our 2020 Southern Pain Society meeting,  “Perspectives, Concerns and Options for Managing Pain.”  Little did anyone realize that national events of 2020 would necessitate many concerns and needs. We have worked to change our perspective as we explored options for safely coordinating an exciting conference to share timely and innovative pain management information. 

Cluster headache is among the most severe pains known to mankind. It is characterized by excruciating, debilitating pain lasting from 15 to 180 minutes, or occasionally longer. Pain is usually located around or through one eye or on the temple. The series of headaches usually lasts several weeks to several months, once or twice per year. Clusters may occur every other year or less frequently.

During the last five years, the focus upon, and priority for effective management of pain have dramatically shifted.  After more than a decade of efforts to improve the awareness of pain and the need to manage it, health care administrators and providers were keenly aware that pain management was an important health care need. 

As COVID-19 continues to influence individual and corporate function worldwide, The Southern Pain Society leadership is working diligently to ensure the best plan for our upcoming Annual Meeting in September. We would like all to know that while information on the current unprecedented pandemic is evolving quickly, your health and safety remains our primary concern.

The efficacy of new drugs is usually reasonably accurate. We have multiple scales for efficacy, and the studies are powered for clinical effect. However, the studies often produce inaccurate adverse event or adverse effect profiles. To determine the likely adverse effects, post-approval we have to piece together multiple lines of evidence. The physician online chat boards have been very helpful.

Quarantined people have to go out to get their prescriptions and can’t get a backup supply.

As you may know or have read in our President’s Column, Dr. John Satterthwaite has stepped down from his long-standing role as SPS Treasurer and will remain on the board as a non-voting member. We are grateful for his 34 years at the financial helm of the organization and appreciate his wisdom, historical perspective and recommendations that have kept SPS healthy, financially sound and robust.

The 2019 Southern Pain Society (SPS) conference was held September 13-15 in New Orleans.  We enjoyed reconnecting with previous conference attendees and meeting many first-time attendees. It was great to have a new attendee share that “this is great–so much better than I ever expected.” It would be difficult to find someone who didn’t learn at least a few new things.

“I just want my life back, I want to feel like me again”. This is a common refrain in our work as pain psychologists. Too often individuals with chronic pain feel as though their lives have fundamentally changed from ones defined by activity and engagement in a meaningful life to ones full of limitations, isolation, and feelings of loss.

In a widely-shared article published in the Atlantic in 2015, titled “How Doctors Take Women’s Pain Less Seriously,” author Joe Fassler tells of his wife Rachel’s visit to the ER after she is suddenly stricken with excruciating abdominal pain, later revealed to be a life-threatening ovarian torsion. . The article tells of their agonizing 14-hour wait in the ER while Rachel’s pain is dismissed, undertreated, and misdiagnosed.

All patients had the diagnosis of chronic migraine. Almost all patients had utilized Botox for their chronic migraine. Each patient had utilized at least 3 preventive medications in the past. Many of these patients remained on a daily preventive. Approximately 60% of the patients were considered to have refractory chronic migraine.

The members of the Board of Directors of the Southern Pain Society were saddened to read about the possible need for the American Pain Society to cease operations.  We have long appreciated the scientific contributions and clinical guidelines for pain management made by the APS. 

Thinking about our coming Annual Meeting, I’m reminded of the complexity of the challenges we face. Along with the attention the opioid crisis is receiving, those of us working daily with patients living with pain know that for many of them there is a simultaneous pain crisis.  As pain professionals we have a responsibility to help to “clean up” what many consider to be  “the mess” that resulted from the opioid crisis and now the consequential pain crisis.

In this third of a series of writings about compassion and pain management, this article focuses on self-compassion.  The premise is that it is essential for health care providers to have compassion for self as the foundation to empathically and compassionately care for patients, while promoting compassionate satisfaction and preventing compassion fatigue.Self-compassion is connecting care and support for self during times of personal suffering.

Migraine is a relatively common illness, affecting 12% of the population. Chronic migraine (CM) is a frequently encountered subset of migraine, and presents certain difficulties in treatment. Those with CM have at least 15 headache days per month, with at least 8 days being migrainous in nature. Many do not do well with the usual preventive approaches, and suffer from refractory chronic migraine (RCM).

Behavioral Medicine Institute (BMI) is a 20+ member, multi-specialty group practice based in Knoxville with a long-established referral base and innovative practice models including embedded clinicians in local medical practices. We are currently seeking a skilled and motivated clinician to add to our team of psychologists working embedded in a local, anesthesiology-based pain center which has received a Center of Excellence award from the American Pain Society. The opportunity is full time, we offer a supportive, collegial atmosphere…

A few nights ago, I was talking with my wife about something fairly benign – probably weekend plans or paying the light bill – when she suddenly got a look on her face that I know very well. It was that solemn, glaze-eyed look that says, “I’m so over this.” Like any good spouse would do, I asked, “What’s wrong? Are you ok?” Her eyes snapped to and she gave a slight smile accompanied by the quietly murmured, “I’m fine.” This was obviously not the case so I interpreted her response to mean that something was wrong…

As we enter this last year of the second decade of the 21st century, clinicians working with patients who experience pain confront the challenge of providing safe and effective pain management while facing numerous barriers to doing so. During the past few years pain management in the US has been dramatically affected by the opioid crisis. This is true for patients and clinicians alike. It is tempting to lament the resultant changes, barriers  and difficulties; however, without appropriate action such lamenting will only deter from working to improve pain management options and care. 

Historically, the interactions between health care providers and patients involved a therapeutic component that enhanced the beneficial effect of the medications and treatments which were provided. Today, when they sense empathy and compassion from clinicians, patients continue to report greater satisfaction, less anxiety, and feeling safer, with improved outcomes demonstrated. Although compassion clearly is important in health care, it is often misunderstood.

Barely a week goes by without at least one, often multiple, mainstream news articles about the practice of pain management. Just the other day, there were a number of stories about a huge federal multi-state crackdown on “rogue prescribing” of opiate pain medications by 76 doctors which led to them being arrested for fraud and a long list of other charges. We also read of a dramatic increase in raids on nationally prominent specialists in opiate dependence who prescribe buprenorphine.

The monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) are a valuable addition to our preventives. However, there are significant conceivable long-term adverse effects associated with them. We will have a better feel for the true risks in 10 years. For each patient, we have to decide whether the benefits outweigh the possible risks. With luck, it may come to pass that the biologics targeting CGRP carry very few long-term risks.

We had a spectacular meeting in September at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in New Orleans.  We collaborated with the Southern Headache Society and included breakout sessions for both chronic pain and headache providers. The opening session on Friday afternoon included talks and panel discussions around the relationship between payors and providers, patient disability issues and managing chronic pain in the cognitively impaired patient. 

“I would not recommend that you go into pain medicine… find something else rewarding to do.” The honesty of that statement just exploded from my mouth – like it has been welling up to be spoken (or shouted) for many months. I am at my clinic at Tulane University...

It is with excitement that I look forward to the new year of 2017. But also some sadness as I step away from the role as president. It has been a wonderful two years with the organization serving in this role… I marvel at what has happened both within the society and within health care as a whole during my term.

In support of our colleagues in pain management, here are some other important meetings coming up that may be of interest to you. FL Academy of Pain Medicine (FAPM) and The Kentucky Pain Society (KPS)

In support of the Southern Headache Society, here is some information about their meeting

Enjoy our Spring 2016 Newsletter Read More

Enjoy our Winter Newsletter in a new electronic format!

Dr. Mordecai Potash, MD has the lead article on Medical Marijuana in the Southern US. He is also a featured speaker at our annual meeting coming up in September. Hope you will join us!

We are pleased to offer a link to a free COPE-REMS CME program designed by Mark Sullivan at the University of washington.

Our Spring Newsletter highlights articles on the opioid epidemic, the Alabama Blue Cross and Blue Shield policy draft and update on our September meeting

Comments are being solicited until May 20th on the draft of the National Pain Strategy. Your input is valuable and we hope you will contribute.

Our Winter newsletter introduces our new president Geralyn Datz, PhD and provides other important information about our organization.

Our Fall Newsletter highlights information from our recent SPS Annual Meeting, along with interesting articles and our new board of directors.

Dr. Eduardo Fraifeld wins the 2014 Hugh L. and Renee S. Rosomoff Award for Excellence in Pain

Have a look at our recent newsletter with articles including a Paradigm Shift, REMS, and A State Heroin Summit.

Notice something new? We are proud to debut our new logo, fonts and color scheme to better reflect who we are.

SPS has a new website that is responsive for mobile/tablet devices!