The Clinical journal of pain
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Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation is associated with chronic pain. Studying pain sensitivity and the HPA axis could elucidate the role of stress in chronic pain development, which might be influenced by familial factors, including genes. ⋯ These findings contribute to understanding possible mechanisms underlying chronic pain by demonstrating that HPA axis response to negative feedback is related to pain sensitivity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effectiveness of Periosteal Stimulation Therapy and Home Exercise Program in the Rehabilitation of Patients with Advanced Knee Osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is the most common form of joint disease. It is one of the major causes of impaired function that reduces quality of life in older people worldwide. Periosteal Stimulation Therapy (PST) with boosters in combination with home exercises may be a suitable treatment option for such patients. ⋯ PST with boosters combined with a home exercise program was shown to be beneficial for improving subjective knee pain and functional performance of older patients with advanced knee OA.
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Chronic pain patients at increased risk of unfavorable pain and opioid misuse outcomes may be those most likely to use opioids long-term, but this has not been evaluated prospectively. ⋯ The strongest predictors of long-term opioid use were not patient-related or medication-related factors, but expectations about using opioids in the future. Asking about such expectations may be the easiest way to identify patients likely to continue opioid use long-term.
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Activity Pacing is Associated with Better and Worse Symptoms for Patients with Long-term Conditions.
Activity pacing has been associated with both improved and worsened symptoms, and its role in reducing disability among patients with long-term conditions has been questioned. However, existing studies have measured pacing according to unidimensional subscales, and therefore the empirical evidence for pacing as a multifaceted construct remains unclear. We have developed a 26-item Activity Pacing Questionnaire (APQ-26) for chronic pain/fatigue containing 5 themes of pacing: activity adjustment, activity consistency, activity progression, activity planning, and activity acceptance. ⋯ Some APQ-26 pacing themes were associated with worse symptoms and others with symptom improvement. Specifically, pacing themes involving adjusting/reducing activities were associated with worse symptoms, whereas pacing themes involving undertaking consistent activities were associated with improved symptoms. Future study will explore the causality of these associations to add clarification regarding the effects of pacing on patients' symptoms.
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This review outlines a conceptual framework adapted from the biopsychosocial model of pain to examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and chronic pain in youth to highlight the state of current research and guide future efforts. ⋯ Adverse experiences in childhood may be associated with greater risk for the development/maintenance of chronic pain in youth. More research is needed on ACEs and how they uniquely affect the biopsychosocial mechanisms underlying chronic pain in children throughout the lifespan.