The Clinical journal of pain
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To investigate whether comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) influenced the efficacy and safety of duloxetine in treating fibromyalgia (FM). ⋯ Duloxetine was effective in reducing pain and other symptoms in FM patients with and without MDD and demonstrated a similar safety profile for both groups.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Efficacy of microcurrent therapy in the treatment of chronic nonspecific back pain: a pilot study.
Microcurrent therapy (MCT) is a novel treatment for pain syndromes. The MCT patch is hypothesized to produce stimuli that promote tissue healing by facilitating physiologic currents. Solid evidence from randomized clinical trials is lacking. To evaluate the efficacy of MCT in treating aspecific, chronic low-back pain, we conducted a double-blind, randomized, crossover, pilot trial. ⋯ A positive trend in MCT use for aspecific, chronic low-back pain is reported. Further investigations are required to evaluate the significance and relevance of this.
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Physiotherapy is considered an important treatment option in patients with upper limb complex regional pain syndrome type-1 (CRPS-1). In case of chronic CRPS-1, exercise therapy of the affected limb forms an important part of the physiotherapeutic program. We investigated whether muscle loading in chronic CRPS-1 patients is associated with impairments in muscle circulation of the forearm of the affected limb. ⋯ Muscle loading does not seems to be related to impairments in muscle oxygen uptake in forearm muscles of upper limbs affected by chronic CRPS-1. Our results suggest that exercise therapy can be safely used in physiotherapeutic training programs for chronic CRPS-1 of the upper limb.
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To describe the common locations of active trigger points (TrPs) in the temporalis muscle and their referred pain patterns in chronic tension type headache (CTTH), and to determine if pressure sensitivity maps of this muscle can be used to describe the spatial distribution of active TrPs. ⋯ Multiple active TrPs in the temporalis muscle were found, particularly in the anterior column and in the middle of the muscle belly. Bilateral posterior to anterior decreased distribution of PPTs in the temporalis muscle in women with CTTH was found. The locations of active TrPs in the temporalis muscle corresponded well to the muscle areas with lower PPT, supporting the relationship between multiple active muscle TrPs and topographical pressure sensitivity maps in the temporalis muscle in women with CTTH.
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Despite the growing number of ambulatory operations knowledge of predictive factors of postoperative pain after ambulatory surgery is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify predictive factors of postoperative pain after ambulatory surgery. ⋯ Several predictive factors of postoperative pain after ambulatory surgery were identified in this study. These factors should be taken into account when planning postoperative analgesia for ambulatory surgery.