Chronic pain

Common ivy is better known as a garden invader or a rather attractive indoor plant that's prone to triggering allergies. Now, for the first time, it's been found to be very effective in blocking pain signals – by instead invading a key pain receptor.

Researchers have flipped the script on the usual approach to pain relief in a new study, demonstrating that a short course of non-invasive brain stimulation before a painful event such as surgery can prevent the development of chronic pain.