Though physicians are increasingly turning to social media to engage patients, YouTube still remains one of the lesser-used marketing mediums. A recent survey of more than 4,000 physicians shows that 67 percent participate in at least one social media site for professional use, but only 8 percent of that group operated a YouTube channel.

An FDA research director last month called for a heightened focus on the development of abuse-resistant opioids and nonopioid pain therapies, according to a Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News report.

ReGear Life Sciences has secured additional funding for its ReBound deep tissue heating pain management device, according to a Medcity News report.

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin yesterday signed into law a bill aiming to curb prescription drug abuse in the state, according to a WTAP report. Under the new legislation, patients will be entered into a database within 24 hours of dropping off an opioid prescription.

A new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology reveals that opioid prescriptions for chronic abdominal pain more than doubled between 1997 and 2008, according to an Anesthesiology News report.

A recent study shows that musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders were the most common reasons for medical evaluation (24 percent) among Iraq and Afghanistan service members, and spinal pain was reported by another 7 percent, according to a Pain Medicine News report.

Pain management specialists are increasingly calling on primary care physicians to assist in treating patients with pain, according to a Family Practice News report. Data shows that chronic pain affects 65 million patients in the US, but there are only 6,000 pain specialists to treat them.

A bill targeting illicit pain clinics in Georgia has been approved by the Senate and heads over to the Governor's desk for signing, according to an 11Alive report.

A Kentucky Senate committee approved legislation Tuesday allowing the attorney general control over the state's prescription drug tracking system, but it included revisions to protect physicians from excessive oversight, according to a Lexington Courier-Journal report.

Manatee County in Florida this week approved a new ordinance designed to regulate existing pain clinics in the county and cut down on those that sell prescription drugs for profit, according to a Bradenton Herald report.