European Journal of Pain : EJP

The aim of this clinical trial was to compare the outcomes of the application of ultrasound-guided percutaneous nerve stimulation (PENS) targeting the median nerve vs. surgery for improving pain and function in women with CTS. In this randomized parallel-group trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04246216), 70 women with CTS were randomly allocated to either PENS (n=35) or surgery (n=35) group. Hand pain intensity (mean pain and the worst pain experienced) was the primary outcome. Functional status and symptoms severity (Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire, BCTQ) and self-perceived improvement (Global Rating of Change, GROC) were the secondary outcomes...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged opioid use (more than 90 days) after injury puts the patient at risk for adverse effects. We investigated the patterns of opioid prescription after distal radius fracture and the effect of pre- and post-fracture factors on the risk for prolonged use. METHODS: This register-based cohort study uses routinely collected health care data, including purchases of prescription opioids, in the county of Skåne, Sweden. 9369 adult patients with a radius fracture diagnosed 2015-2018 were followed for one year after fracture...

Reliability is a topic in health science in which a critical appraisal of the magnitudes of the measurements is often left aside to favour a formulaic analysis. Furthermore, the relationship between clinical relevance and reliability of measurements is often overlooked. In this context, the aim of the present article is to provide an overview of the design and analysis of reliability studies, the interpretation of the reliability of measurements and its relationship to clinical significance in the context of pain research and management...

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BACKGROUND: Complementary and Integrative Health Approaches (CIHA), including but not limited to, natural products and Mind and Body Practices (MBPs), are promising non-pharmacological adjuvants to the arsenal of pain management therapeutics. We aim to establish possible relationships between use of CIHA and the capacity of descending pain modulatory system in the form of occurrence and magnitude of placebo effects in a laboratory setting. METHODS: This cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between self-reported use of CIHA, pain disability, and experimentally-induced placebo hypoalgesia in chronic pain participants suffering from Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD)...

BACKGROUND: Nocebo effects can adversely affect the experience of physical symptoms, such as pain and itch. Nocebo effects on itch and pain have shown to be induced by conditioning with thermal heat stimuli and reduced by counterconditioning. However, open-label counterconditioning, in which participants are informed about the placebo content of the treatment, has not been investigated, while this can be highly relevant for clinical practice. Furthermore, (open-label) conditioning and counterconditioning has not been investigated for pain modalities relevant to musculoskeletal disorders, such as pressure pain...

BACKGROUND: Being able to successfully self-regulate one's activity levels is a key adaptation strategy for many people with chronic pain. This study aimed to explore the clinical utility of a mobile health platform (Pain ROADMAP) for assisting with the delivery of a tailored activity modulation intervention for people with persistent pain. METHODS: Twenty adults with chronic pain undertook 1-week monitoring intervals which involved wearing an Actigraph activity monitor and entering pain, opioid use and activity participation data into a custom-made phone app...

BACKGROUND: Virtual reality (VR) is a promising non-pharmacological pain intervention because it may not only distract but also modulate pain by immersing the user in a three-dimensional 360° alternate reality. In children, VR has been reported to reduce clinical pain and anxiety during medical procedures. However, the effect of immersive VR on pain and anxiety remains to be investigated in randomized controlled trials (RCT). The aim of the present crossover RCT was to assess the effect of VR on pressure pain threshold (PPT) and anxiety level measured with the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS) in children in a controlled experimental setting...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Clinical interventions aim to improve the daily-life experiences of patients. However, past research has highlighted important discrepancies between commonly used assessments (e.g., retrospective questionnaires) and patients' daily-life experiences of pain. These gaps may contribute to flawed clinical decision-making and ineffective care. Recent work suggests that real-time, task-based clinical assessments may help reduce these discrepancies by adding predictive value in explaining daily-life pain experiences...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Ubiquitin-mediated degradation of the Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor C (MrgC) reduces the number of receptors. However, the specific deubiquitinating enzyme to antagonize this process has not been reported. In this study, we investigated the effect of ubiquitin-specific protease-48 (USP48) on bone cancer pain and its effect on MrgC. METHODS: A mouse model of bone cancer pain was established. Bone cancer pain behaviors of mice were assessed after intrathecal injection of AAV (adeno-associated virus)-USP48...

BACKGROUND: Poor quality sleep is a common complaint among people with chronic pain. The co-occurrence of poor sleep quality and chronic pain often comes with increased pain intensity, more disability, and a higher cost of healthcare. Poor sleep has been suggested to affect measures of peripheral and central pain mechanisms. To date, sleep provocations are the only models proven to affect measures of central pain mechanisms in healthy subjects. However, there are limited studies investigating the effect of several nights of sleep disruption on measures of central pain mechanisms...

Background Pain after a SARS-CoV-2 acute infection (post-COVID pain) is becoming a new healthcare emergency but remains underestimated and most likely undertreated due to a lack of recognition of the phenomenon and knowledge of the underlying pain mechanisms. Evidence supporting any particular treatment approach for the management of post-COVID pain is lacking. Large variability in the patient response to any standard pain treatments is clinically observed, which has led to calls for a personalized, tailored approach to treating patients with chronic post-COVID pain (i...

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BACKGROUND: Pain can have a significant impact on an individual's life, as it has both cognitive and affective consequences. However, our understanding of how pain affects social cognition is limited. Previous studies have shown that pain, as an alarm stimulus, can disrupt cognitive processing when focal attention is required, but whether pain also affects task-irrelevant perceptual processing is unclear. METHODS: We examined the effect of laboratory-induced pain on event-related potentials (ERPs) to neutral, sad, and happy faces before, during, and after a cold pressor pain...

The aim of this comprehensive review was to provide an overview of pain in Parkinson's disease (PD) by identifying different clinical features and potential mechanisms, and presenting some data on the evaluation and management of pain in PD. PD is a multifocal degenerative and progressive disease, which could affect the pain process at multiple levels. Pain in PD has a multifactorial aetiology, with a dynamic process based on pain intensity, complexity of symptoms, pain pathophysiology and presence of comorbidities...