The Clinical journal of pain
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The aim of this study is to examine the difference in the report of bodily pain experienced by patients who develop temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and by those who do not develop TMD over a 3-year observation period. ⋯ The development of TMD was accompanied by increases in headaches, muscle soreness or pain, and other pains that were not observed in the Participants who did not develop TMD. Participants who developed TMD also report higher experience of joint, back, chest, and menstrual pain at baseline.
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Malfunction of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is common in early complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS I). This study was designed to evaluate the function of the SNS in patients with chronic CRPS I and to correlate the obtained data with hand function measurements. ⋯ Even 5 years after the diagnosis of CRPS I of the upper extremity we detected significant impairments of the pSNS in nearly two thirds of our patients. Patients still have pain and present with a significant deterioration of their hand function in comparison with the not affected hand. In our study we could not identify any correlation between pSNS function and clinical outcome as measured by MHQ.
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Costs of compensated work loss for low back pain have risen dramatically. Current healthcare management of this condition may contribute to this trend. Researchers are currently investigating the degree to which healthcare practitioners' attitudes and beliefs may influence their patient management. Measures used to assess healthcare practitioners' attitudes and beliefs have often been adapted from patient tools. The degree to which they have been assessed for use with different populations varies. ⋯ Statistical methods used suggest that the measure demonstrates good reliability with a GP population. The influence of training on attitudes and beliefs of GPs is discussed.
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Medication nonadherence is a frequent problem in chronic conditions. In chronic noncancer pain, medication is often used as an important cornerstone of the treatment. Studies on medication nonadherence in this population, however, are scarce. ⋯ We can conclude that medication nonadherence, especially underuse of medication, occurs frequently among patients with chronic nonmalignant pain. Prospective research is needed to learn about the impact of medication overuse or underuse on clinical outcomes. Future research should examine underuse and overuse as different types of nonadherence as different factors might predict this behavior.
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Pain is identified as the third largest health problem in the world, impacting sleep, physical functioning, and psychologic functioning. Pain has been viewed as a multidimensional experience influenced by biology, psychology, cultural conditioning, expectancies, and social contingencies. The aims of this study were to examine the psychometric properties and the differential item functioning (DIF) of the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) to test the cultural differences in verbally based pain expression. ⋯ Test bias was relatively small (0.74) given the entire scale of the SF-MPQ (0 to 45), indicating that this measure seems to be used equivalently across these 2 groups. This study shows 1 method in evaluating the cross-cultural validity of pain assessment instruments, and contributes to the understanding of cross-cultural variability in item reporting on the SF-MPQ.