Asaf (Klaf) Weisman's Avatar

Asaf (Klaf) Weisman

@asafklaf.bsky.social

PhD candidate at Tel-Aviv University. I am a researcher of the spine and people experiencing pain. I am also an MSK Physiotherapist. Follow me for the neuroscience of pain, spine, and health issues. Blog: https://painlosophy.wordpress.com/

1,024 Followers  |  3,058 Following  |  171 Posts  |  Joined: 04.12.2023  |  2.1433

Latest posts by asafklaf.bsky.social on Bluesky

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A new medical illustration I made per request. I wish I could just do those all day.

#painscience
#neuroskyence
#physio
๐Ÿ›Ÿ๐Ÿงช

04.05.2025 19:56 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 71    ๐Ÿ” 11    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

They found a population of noxious heat and chemical irritation processing neurons - not โ€œpainโ€ and not โ€œitch specific neuronsโ€

30.04.2025 13:56 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Do Psychological Factors Explain the Persistence of... : The Clinical Journal of Pain education program. Methods: One hundred forty-three individuals with persistent RCRSP were included in this prospective cohort study. At baseline, participants completed self-reported questionnaire...

According to Betteridge's law of headlines, the answer to the titles question is: NO!
The study found MICROSCOPIC effect sizes for the contribution of psychological factors in the persistence of shoulder pain!

#physio #painscience
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journals.lww.com/clinicalpain...

16.04.2025 10:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Suzetrigine, a Non-Opioid NaV1.8 Inhibitor With Broad Applicability for Moderate-to-Severe Acute Pain: A Phase 3 Single-Arm Study for Surgical or Non-Surgical Acute Pain Many patients experience inadequate pain control due to limited options that are both efficacious and safe for treating moderate-to-severe acute pain; therefore, opioids are still frequently prescr...

First phase 3 trial for the novel non-opioid drug Suzetrigine. Itโ€™s not placebo controlled and aimed to test the safety profile of the drug. I am not sure wheter this could be considered โ€œwell-toleratedโ€ and โ€œgenerally safeโ€

#physio
#painscience
#neuroskyence
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www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

03.04.2025 07:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The obvious questions are: how did they get those mice to report they were experiencing pain? And since when pain is being processed anywhere in the brain when pain is a response and the outcome of all processing?

24.03.2025 14:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Evidence for peripheral neuroinflammation after acute... : PAIN a subgroup with underlying nerve involvement in WADII, such as peripheral neuroinflammation. This study aimed to investigate the presence of neuroinflammation in acute WADII using T2-weighted magnetic...

New study finds evidence for neuroinflammation in the periphery of individuals after WHIPLASH. Very well conducted study! Sample size โœ… control group โœ… Sig. findings on MRI โœ… Sig. findings on blood tests โœ… Sig. findings on QST โœ…

#physio
#neuroskyence
#painresearch
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05.03.2025 16:01 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 12    ๐Ÿ” 5    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Evidence for peripheral neuroinflammation after acute... : PAIN a subgroup with underlying nerve involvement in WADII, such as peripheral neuroinflammation. This study aimed to investigate the presence of neuroinflammation in acute WADII using T2-weighted magnetic...

New study finds evidence for neuroinflammation in the periphery of individuals after WHIPLASH. Very well conducted study! Sample size โœ… control group โœ… Sig. findings on MRI โœ… Sig. findings on blood tests โœ… Sig. findings on QST โœ…

#physio
#painresearch
#neuroskyence

journals.lww.com/pain/Fulltex...

05.03.2025 15:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Fibromyalgia is a rabbit hole by itself. What have you learned from your quest?

16.02.2025 08:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Altered manifestations of skin disease at sites affected by neurological deficit The contribution of the nervous system to inflammation in general and inflammatory skin disease in particular has been underappreciated. It is now apparent that the conventional clinical manifestation...

Link includes 16 other examples

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

08.02.2025 15:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Striking cases of neuro-immune interactions: Upper pic: Psoriasis vanished from right hand after shoulder dislocation with brachial plexus injury. Bottom pic: Four months later, as nerves began to recover, psoriasis returned.
#neuroskyence
#painresearch
#physio
๐Ÿงช๐Ÿ›Ÿ

08.02.2025 15:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 56    ๐Ÿ” 7    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 6    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Trigeminal nerve microstructure is linked with neuroinflammation and brainstem activity in migraine Using multimodal imaging, Tohyama et al. show that individuals with migraine have white matter damage in the trigeminal nerve. This damage is associated wi

New study with combined 7 Tesla MRI imaging and PET scan finds altered structures of nerves and neuroinflammation in migraine patients. Vey robust design that includes a control group and same cases as right/left side dominant migraines as controls.
#painresearch
#neuroskyence
#physio
๐Ÿงช๐Ÿ›Ÿ

06.02.2025 10:05 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 38    ๐Ÿ” 10    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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US drug agency approves potent painkiller โ€” the first non-opioid in decades The FDAโ€™s nod for suzetrigine bolsters confidence in the pharmaceutical industryโ€™s strategy to target sodium channels.

FDA approves new pain killer- First non-opioid analgesic in decades targets sodium channels.

#painresearch
#physio
#neuroskyence
๐Ÿ›Ÿ๐Ÿงช

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

01.02.2025 08:58 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 80    ๐Ÿ” 30    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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New imaging technique published in Nature to image inflammation utilizes the protein CD-45 which is used only by white blood cells.

Link: Link: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#painresearch
#physio
#neuroskyence
๐Ÿ›Ÿ๐Ÿงช

26.01.2025 16:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 83    ๐Ÿ” 11    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
โ€œNociplastic Painโ€: A Challenge to Nosology and to Nociception The construct of โ€œnociplastic painโ€ has met with divergent receptions. On the one hand it has been enthusiastically embraced, to the extent of conflatโ€ฆ

Read more in our paper.
Open access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

22.01.2025 13:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

It just means that the mode of activation is not nociceptive nor neuropathic. Unfortunately, the term nociplastic pain has been hijacked by those with vested interests to sell and promote psychological treatments for those with โ€œnon structural pain. Do not cooperate with this trend!

22.01.2025 13:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

This activation can occur due to three mechanisms: nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic. It is now known that activation of nociception can occur independently and without observed tissue damage (nociplastic). This does not make nociplastic โ€œnon structural painโ€

22.01.2025 13:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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There is no such thing as โ€œSTRUCTURAL PAINโ€ and โ€œnon structural painโ€ etc. The plethora of unpleasant sensory experiences we humans use the word โ€œpainโ€ to describe them, are all the consequences of activation of our specialized appartus of nociception.
#painresearch
#physio
#neuroskyence

22.01.2025 13:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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It should be obligatory for every med/life sci grad student to learn formal logic & reasoning. Too many published papers are poorly argued and make basic inferential errors. This small change would dramatically improve science

#physio
#painresearch
#neuroskyence
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21.01.2025 14:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 31    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

โญ๏ธSurgery should be considered if leg pain and decreased walking distance are the main clinical features that disturb and affect the patient.

13.01.2025 16:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

โญ๏ธEventually, at one year follow-up, both groups equalized in their outcomes,but the surgery group improved faster.

โญ๏ธFunctional tests are good at reflecting the subjective self assessment of patients with Spinal Stenosis and can be used for shared decision making.

13.01.2025 16:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

What you can learn from the study:

โญ๏ธ Leg pain and the decreased ability to walk are the main features that led those who opted for surgery.

โญ๏ธContrary to the vilification trend of lumbar surgery in healthcare, those with leg pain improved significantly faster than the wait and see group.

13.01.2025 16:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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The Clinical Status of Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis ... : JAAOS - Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons oth groups were assessed at baseline (t0) and 3 months (t1), with additional self-reported measures at 6 (t2) and 12 months (t3). Key outcomes included corridor walk distance, chair sit-to-stand repet...

๐Ÿ’ฅNew publication from our lab with some important clinical nuggets.
We followed 2 groups of patients with Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and leg pain, who decided to undergo surgery or to โ€œwait and seeโ€
A ๐Ÿงต

journals.lww.com/jaaos/abstra...

#physio
#painresearch
#orthosky
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๐Ÿ›Ÿ

13.01.2025 16:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Not that I know of currently. But I created the soorts science feed

bsky.app/profile/did:...

05.01.2025 14:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I created the #sportsskyence feed. Pin it

bsky.app/profile/did:...

05.01.2025 14:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Instead of talking about the predatory nature of MDPI journals, can we talk about how UGLY their formatting is? Itโ€™s literally hurting my eyes reading their papers online and PDFs ๐Ÿ˜ฃ

#painresearch
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26.12.2024 10:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 11    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I donโ€™t think its a prank. I could be wrong though. The Scand J Pain has never published pranks or comic editions like the traditional BMJ Christmas issue.

25.12.2024 19:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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๐Ÿค˜๐ŸปThe study I have been waiting for 30 years! Only Scandinavians can pull this out let alone publish it in a Scandinavian pain journal ๐Ÿค˜๐Ÿป
#painscience
#physio
#painresearch
#ignobel2025

www.degruyter.com/document/doi...

25.12.2024 10:21 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 13    ๐Ÿ” 3    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
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Finland Publication Forum will downgrade hundreds of Frontiers and MDPI journals A committee of scholars in Finland has decided to downgrade 271 journals from Frontiers and MDPI in their quality rating system, in a move that may discourage researchers from submitting manuscriptโ€ฆ

Finalnd downgraded many MDPI and Frontiers journals in their quality grading. Good call for MDPI. As for Frontiers I am not really sure but tend to say its also a good call.
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#physio
#painresearch

retractionwatch.com/2024/12/24/f...

24.12.2024 15:50 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Pain canโ€™t be carved at the joints: defining function-based pain profiles and their relevance to chronic disease management in healthcare delivery design - BMC Medicine Background Pain is a complex problem that is triaged, diagnosed, treated, and billed based on which body part is painful, almost without exception. While the โ€œbody part frameworkโ€ guides the organizat...

This paper is making the rounds on social media. I have been trying really hard to find and understand the point where this paper actually says something of novel significance and I failed miserably ๐Ÿคท๐Ÿปโ€โ™‚๏ธ
#physio
#neuroskyence
#painresearch

bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....

23.12.2024 14:30 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Sapolsky found โ€œpain circuitryโ€ in humans and โ€œpainful stimuliโ€ in nature? How, intriguing

12.12.2024 05:24 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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