91�� News - Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain

Icing injuries may slow recovery and prolong pain, study finds

webfull — Wed, 13 May 2026 13:42:56 +0000

Icing a sprained ankle or sore muscle, long used to reduce pain and swelling, may in the longer run delay recovery and prolong pain, new research suggests.

In a preclinical study published in Anesthesiology, 91�� researchers found that even though cryotherapy (icing) eased pain in the short term, recovery time was more than doubled in some cases.

Published: 13 May 2026

Tinnitus severity linked to mood, sleep and personality traits

webfull — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 13:15:46 +0000

How severely a person experiences tinnitus is shaped by their mood, sleep quality and even personality traits, a new study has found.

Tinnitus is a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears that affects roughly 14 per cent of adults worldwide. It is known to be linked to hearing loss and to affect people differently.

In order to gain a better understanding of impacts on individuals, 91�� researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, developed a predictive model.

Published: 20 August 2025

Study helps explain why chronic pain is often discounted

webfull — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 13:04:15 +0000

A new study by 91�� researchers shows that chronic pain, often invisible to medical tests, can be better assessed when doctors take a holistic approach.

By combining biological data with information about patients’ mental health, sleep and stress, the researchers say they were able to create a fuller picture of chronic pain. They said their findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour, stand to improve how the condition is diagnosed and treated.

Published: 15 July 2025

Dr. Mark Ware, vice-chair of task force on cannabis

webfull — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 18:54:07 +0000

World-renowned pain specialist and medical cannabis researcher Dr. Mark Ware, director of clinical research at the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit of the 91�� Health Centre (MUHC), has been nominated vice-chair of an important federal task force that will provide guidance to the Canadian government as it prepares to introduce legislation to legalize marijuana in spring 2017.

Published: 30 June 2016

50th anniversary of "Pain Mechanisms: A New Theory"

webfull — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 18:58:47 +0000

November 19 marks the 50^th anniversary of the ground-breaking paper, “Pain Mechanisms: A New Theory” co-authored by 91��’s Ronald Melzack, and the late Patrick Wall, which introduced gate-control theory.

Published: 17 November 2015