Bone and Spine News

December 29, 2025

Top Headlines

Dec. 25, 2025 Tramadol, a popular opioid often seen as a “safer” painkiller, may not live up to its reputation. A large analysis of clinical trials found that while it does reduce chronic pain, the relief is modest—so small that many patients likely ...

Tea May Strengthen Bones in Older Women While Heavy Coffee Weakens Them

Dec. 13, 2025 A decade-long study of older women found that tea drinkers had slightly stronger bones, while moderate coffee drinking caused no harm. Heavy coffee intake—over five cups a day—was linked to lower bone density, especially in women who consumed ...

Immune Cells Use a Surprising Trick to Heal Muscle Faster

Nov. 24, 2025 A research team has found that specific immune cells can connect with muscle fibers in a lightning-fast, neuron-like way to promote healing. These cells deliver quick pulses of calcium, triggering repair within seconds. The mechanism works in both ...

A Tiny Enzyme May Hold the Key to Safer Pain Relief

Nov. 23, 2025 Researchers have uncovered a surprising way the brain switches pain on, revealing that neurons can release an enzyme outside the cell that activates pain signals without disrupting normal movement or sensation. This enzyme, called VLK, modifies ...

A Drug Already in Trials May Stop Chemotherapy Nerve Damage

Nov. 21, 2025 Researchers discovered that chemotherapy can accidentally trigger a stress alarm in immune cells, causing inflammation that damages nerves. Blocking this alarm protected mice from nerve pain and kept their nerves healthier. A drug already being ...

A Surprising CBD Advance Calms Pain Without Side Effects

Nov. 18, 2025 Researchers developed a new nano-micelle formulation, CBD-IN, that finally gets CBD into the brain effectively. In mice, it relieved neuropathic pain quickly and didn’t cause the usual movement or memory side effects. Surprisingly, the pain relief ...

Chronic Pain May Dramatically Raise Your Blood Pressure

Nov. 17, 2025 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 between long-lasting pain, depression, ...

Scientists Turn Body Fat Into Bone to Heal Spinal Fractures

Nov. 11, 2025 Researchers in Osaka have found that stem cells from fat tissue can repair spinal fractures similar to those caused by osteoporosis. By turning these cells into bone-forming clusters and pairing them with a bone-rebuilding material, rats regained ...

Breakthrough Brain Discovery Reveals a Natural Way to Relieve Pain

Nov. 4, 2025 Using powerful 7-Tesla brain imaging, researchers mapped how the brainstem manages pain differently across the body. They discovered that distinct regions activate for facial versus limb pain, showing the brain’s built-in precision pain control ...

Your Bedroom Glow Might Be Quietly Damaging Your Heart

Nov. 3, 2025 Boston researchers linked nighttime light exposure to greater stress-related brain activity and inflamed arteries, signaling a higher risk of heart disease. The study suggests that artificial light at night disrupts normal stress responses, leading ...

They Found Cancer’s Hidden Power Hubs and Learned How to Melt Them Away

Oct. 22, 2025 Texas A&M researchers found that in an aggressive kidney cancer, RNA builds “droplet hubs” that activate tumor genes. By creating a molecular switch to dissolve these hubs, they stopped cancer growth in lab and mouse tests. The work reveals how ...

Stanford’s Tiny Eye Chip Helps the Blind See Again

Oct. 22, 2025 A wireless eye implant developed at Stanford Medicine has restored reading ability to people with advanced macular degeneration. The PRIMA chip works with smart glasses to replace lost photoreceptors using infrared light. Most trial participants ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:22am EST

Mayo Clinic Neurosurgeon Reveals 8 Back Pain Myths to Stop Believing

Dec. 15, 2025 Back pain is wrapped in persistent myths, but many are far from the truth. From misconceptions about heavy lifting and bed rest to confusion over posture, exercise, and surgery, Dr. Meghan Murphy ...

Stem Cell Pain Sponge Soaks Up Osteoarthritis Joint Pain and Protects Cartilage

Dec. 15, 2025 SereNeuro Therapeutics revealed promising results for SN101, a first-in-class iPSC-derived therapy designed to treat chronic osteoarthritis pain ...

AI Finds a Hidden Stress Signal Inside Routine CT Scans

Dec. 14, 2025 Researchers used a deep learning AI model to uncover the first imaging-based biomarker of chronic stress by measuring adrenal gland volume on routine CT scans. This new metric, the Adrenal Volume ...

Scientists Uncover a Surprising Protein That Heals Stubborn Wounds

Nov. 17, 2025 Researchers have uncovered that SerpinB3, typically linked to severe cancers, is also a key player in natural wound healing. The protein drives skin cell movement and tissue rebuilding, especially ...

Tiny AI-Powered Eye Implant Helps the Blind See Again

Oct. 20, 2025 A groundbreaking retinal implant called PRIMA has enabled blind patients with dry AMD to read again. The chip, powered by light and paired with AR glasses, sends visual data directly to the brain. In ...

Scientists Just Debunked the Calcium and Dementia Myth

Oct. 18, 2025 A long-term Australian study found that calcium supplements do not raise dementia risk in older women, countering previous fears. The research followed more than 1,400 participants for nearly 15 ...

This European Treatment for Joint Pain Just Passed a Major Scientific Test

Oct. 15, 2025 Korean researchers found that low-dose radiation therapy eased knee pain and improved movement in people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis. The treatment, far weaker than cancer radiation, showed ...

Scientists Discover Brain Circuit That Can Switch Off Chronic Pain

Oct. 10, 2025 Scientists have pinpointed Y1 receptor neurons in the brain that can override chronic pain signals when survival instincts like hunger or fear take precedence. Acting like a neural switchboard, these ...

A Single Dose of Psilocybin May Rewire the Brain for Lasting Relief

Oct. 2, 2025 Penn researchers found that psilocybin can calm brain circuits tied to pain and mood, easing both physical suffering and emotional distress in animal studies. The compound works in the anterior ...

Scientists Uncover How to Block Pain Without Side Effects

Sep. 26, 2025 Scientists have discovered a way to block pain while still allowing the body’s natural healing to take place. Current painkillers like ibuprofen and aspirin often come with harmful side effects ...

AI-Powered Smart Bandage Heals Wounds 25% Faster

Sep. 24, 2025 A new wearable device, a-Heal, combines AI, imaging, and bioelectronics to speed up wound recovery. It continuously monitors wounds, diagnoses healing stages, and applies personalized treatments like ...

AI Breakthrough Finds Life-Saving Insights in Everyday Bloodwork

Sep. 23, 2025 AI-powered analysis of routine blood tests can reveal hidden patterns that predict recovery and survival after spinal cord injuries. This breakthrough could make life-saving predictions affordable ...

Scientists Discover Microplastics Deep Inside Human Bones

Sep. 19, 2025 Microplastics have been detected in human blood, brain tissue, and even bones, where they may weaken skeletal structure and accelerate cell aging. Recent studies suggest that these particles could ...

Cambridge Scientists Created a Gel That Could End Arthritis Pain

Sep. 25, 2025 Cambridge scientists have created a breakthrough material that can sense tiny chemical changes in the body, such as the increased acidity during an arthritis flare-up, and release drugs exactly when ...

Overworked Neurons Burn out and Fuel Parkinson’s Disease

Sep. 3, 2025 Overactivation of dopamine neurons may directly drive their death, explaining why movement-controlling brain cells degenerate in Parkinson’s. Mice with chronically stimulated neurons showed the ...

Hidden Viruses in Our DNA Could Be Medicine’s Next Big Breakthrough

Sep. 3, 2025 Scientists have decoded the 3D structure of an ancient viral protein hidden in our DNA. The HERV-K Env protein, found on cancer and autoimmune cells, has a unique shape that could unlock new ...

Rats Walk Again After Breakthrough Spinal Cord Repair With 3D Printing

Aug. 26, 2025 University of Minnesota researchers developed a 3D-printed scaffold that directs stem cells to grow into functioning nerve cells, successfully restoring movement in rats with severed spinal cords. ...

Is Ketamine the Answer for Chronic Pain? New Findings Cast Doubt

Aug. 18, 2025 A sweeping review of 67 trials has cast doubt on the use of ketamine and similar NMDA receptor antagonists for chronic pain relief. While ketamine is frequently prescribed off-label for conditions ...

Breakthrough “smart” Gel Restores Blood Flow and Heals Diabetic Wounds in Days

Aug. 8, 2025 A new gel-based treatment could change the way diabetic wounds heal. By combining tiny healing messengers called vesicles with a special hydrogel, scientists have created a dressing that restores ...

Pain Relief Without Pills? VR Nature Scenes Trigger the Brain’s Healing Switch

July 30, 2025 Stepping into a virtual forest or waterfall scene through VR could be the future of pain management. A new study shows that immersive virtual nature dramatically reduces pain sensitivity almost as ...

How a Hidden Brain Circuit Fuels Fibromyalgia, Migraines, and PTSD

July 10, 2025 What if your brain is the reason some pain feels unbearable? Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered a hidden brain circuit that gives pain its emotional punch—essentially transforming ...

The Surprising Link Between Hearing Loss, Loneliness, and Lifespan

July 5, 2025 People who treat hearing loss with hearing aids or cochlear implants regain rich conversations, escape isolation, and may even protect their brains and lifespans—proof that better hearing ...

A Tiny Implant Just Helped Paralyzed Rats Walk Again—is Human Recovery Next?

June 28, 2025 A groundbreaking study from the University of Auckland and Chalmers University of Technology is offering new hope for spinal cord injury patients. Researchers have developed an ultra-thin implant ...

The Molecule That Might Save Your Sight—and Your Heart

June 25, 2025 Washington University researchers found that raising a molecule called ApoM helps eye cells sweep away harmful cholesterol deposits linked to age-related macular degeneration, potentially preventing ...

USC's New AI Implant Promises Drug-Free Relief for Chronic Pain

June 24, 2025 A groundbreaking wireless implant promises real-time, personalized pain relief using AI and ultrasound power no batteries, no wires, and no opioids. Designed by USC and UCLA engineers, it reads brain ...

New Discovery: Tylenol Stops Pain at the Nerves, Before It Hits the Brain

June 10, 2025 Acetaminophen may be doing more than just dulling pain in your brain it could be stopping it before it even starts. Scientists at Hebrew University have discovered that a metabolite of the drug, ...

Being in Nature Can Help People With Chronic Back Pain Manage Their Condition

June 3, 2025 Researchers asked patients, some of whom had experienced lower back pain for up to 40 years, if being in nature helped them coped better with their lower back pain. They found that people able to ...

Brain Training Game Offers New Hope for Drug-Free Pain Management

June 2, 2025 A trial of an interactive game that trains people to alter their brain waves has shown promise as a treatment for nerve pain -- offering hope for a new generation of drug-free ...

Could 'Pausing' Cell Death Be the Final Frontier in Medicine on Earth and Beyond?

May 29, 2025 The process of necrosis, a form of cell death, may represent one of the most promising ways to change the course of human aging, disease and even space travel, according to a new ...

Potential to Prevent and Treat a Common Type of Inflammatory Arthritis Advanced by the Identification of New Genetic Links

May 28, 2025 Researchers have discovered two genes, RNF144B and ENPP1, that cause calcium pyrophosphate deposition (CPPD) disease in Americans of European and African descent. This crystalline arthritis is caused ...