Shafik Boyaji, MD

CBD, a non-psychoactive component in cannabis, is emerging as a promising pharmaceutical agent to treat pain and other conditions. Unfortunately, few studies in humans have examined its effectiveness, and the cannabis industry’s profit motive is driving a wave of dubious claims about what CBD can do.

Neuromodulation therapies use a targeted stimulus to help people manage pain. This can be in the form of an electrical stimulation device or a pump containing medication, either of which can be implanted in the body.

One of the paradoxes of treating pain is that the longer a person takes an opioid medication, the greater possibility they will become more sensitive to pain, a condition called opioid-induced hyperalgesia.