Today, we’re diving straight into a topic that hits close to home for millions of patients and providers alike: IUD insertion pain, and more importantly, how we can actually make it better. Now, if you’ve been practicing or following clinical guidelines for a while, you know the frustrating backstory here. For years, the standard advice was simple: "Just take 800 milligrams of ibuprofen an hour before your appointment." But a 2015 double-blinded, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial showed that taking a single dose of 800 mg within an hour before insertion did not relieve procedural pain. That was published in the journal Contraception in 2015. This left clinicians wishing for better options. Fast forward to 2024, when the CDC updated its guidelines to formally recommend local analgesia, like lidocaine blocks or topical use, to help manag ...