The Clinical journal of pain
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To reanalyze scoring criteria for automatic detection of nociceptive flexion reflexes (NFRs) in electromyography (EMG) recordings and to improve detection accuracy by accounting for multiple characteristics of the recordings, such as baseline noise level or sampling rate. ⋯ The automatic detection of reflex responses in electromyograms can be significantly improved by including multiple reflex, baseline, and EMG characteristics into a classification model. These findings should help to improve the accuracy of currently used standard measurement algorithms and algorithms engineered toward specific properties, such as short measurements or less induced pain for the patients.
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Pain, mood problems, and sleeping difficulties are often comorbid and contribute to reduced physical function and quality of life for those with chronic pain. However, the way in which these factors interact is unclear. Until recently it was thought that the effect of sleep on pain and physical function was simply a result of its common association with mood problems. However, a growing body of research suggests that sleep may have a unique contribution. ⋯ Given that sleep has an important and unique contribution to pain and physical function, it is important that sleep disturbances are addressed both in the assessment and treatment of chronic pain.
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Review Meta Analysis
Barriers to Primary Care Clinician Adherence to Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-synthesis of Qualitative Studies.
Despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines for the management of low back pain (LBP) that contain consistent messages, large evidence-practice gaps in primary care remain. ⋯ Addressing misconceptions and other barriers to uptake of evidence-based guidelines for managing LBP is needed to improve knowledge transfer and close the evidence-practice gap in the treatment of this common condition.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Body Awareness as an Important Target in Multidisciplinary Chronic Pain Treatment: Mediation and Subgroup Analyses.
The results of a recently performed randomized clinical trial showed that the effect of a multidisciplinary treatment of chronic pain patients on body awareness (BA), catastrophizing, and depression was improved by adding psychomotor therapy (PMT), an intervention targeting BA. No significant effects were found on quality of life and disability. The present follow-up study aimed to explore the relationship between improvements in BA and multidisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation treatment outcome across treatment conditions and the possible mediating effect of BA between treatment conditions. Furthermore, the hypothesis that patients with low BA benefit more from PMT was investigated. ⋯ BA might be an important target of treatment to improve the multidisciplinary treatment outcome in chronic pain patients. Furthermore, PMT is an intervention that seems to provide its benefits through improving BA and may be especially beneficial for patients with low BA.
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Motor vehicle collisions (MVC) are a major cause of injury, which frequently lead to chronic pain and prolonged disability. Several studies have found that seeking or receiving financial compensation following MVC leads to poorer recovery and worse pain. We evaluated the evidence for the relationship between compensation and chronic pain following MVC within a biopsychosocial framework. ⋯ Although causal relationships cannot be assumed, the findings imply that aspects of loss, injustice, and secondary mental health outcomes lead to chronic pain following MVC. Further robust prospective research is required to understand the complex relationship between compensation systems and pain following road trauma, particularly the role of secondary mental health outcomes.