The Clinical journal of pain
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Understanding the relationship between chronic pain and neurocognition has important implications for the assessment and treatment of patient experiencing pain. This paper provides an overview of the current literature examining the neurocognition-chronic pain relationship and suggests future avenues of research, along with a discussion of clinical implications of the literature findings. Consideration of potential moderators and mediators of this relationship, as well as a brief discussion of the importance of future research in special populations at particular risk for these problems, are also a focus of this paper. ⋯ Several factors may moderate or mediate the relationship between chronic pain and neurocognitive functioning, including mood symptoms, medication side effects, and intensity and/or chronicity of pain. Limitations in the literature include a paucity of methodologically rigorous studies controlling for confounding variables (eg, opioid analgesia) and a limited number of studies examining the relationship between chronic pain and traumatic brain injury (a potential precipitant of both pain and neurocognitive impairment). Nonetheless, findings from the existing literature have significant clinical implications, including for populations with heightened risk of both pain and neurocognitive disorders.
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Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a major health issue, yet its underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Studies have demonstrated the importance of emotion and cognition in chronic pain; however, the relevant brain physiology in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies are unclear in CLBP populations. Therefore, this review aimed to identify MRI brain changes and examine their potential relationship with emotional and cognitive processes in CLBP. ⋯ The brain changes in CLBP groups were mainly observed in areas and networks important in emotion and cognition, rather than those typically associated with nociception. This supports the understanding that emotional and cognitive processes may be the core contributor to the CLBP experience; however, future studies need to explore these processes further.
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Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) can be associated with local and central sensitization. As an indicator of the central gain, facilitated temporal summation of pain (TSP) has been found in KOA patients. This facilitation is predictive of the development of chronic postoperative pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Other studies have suggested hypoesthesia/hypoalgesia to thermal stimuli as a feature in KOA. This study investigated associations between preoperative TSP, thermal sensitivity, and radiologic severity for the development of chronic postoperative pain after TKA. ⋯ This study showed that preoperatively facilitated TSP in KOA patients was predictive of the development of chronic postoperative pain following TKA. Furthermore, this study is the first to find an association between preoperative hypoalgesia to heat and the development of chronic postoperative pain following TKA.
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Pain is a common and distressing symptom of pediatric cancer, as reported by both children and their parents. Increasingly, children with cancer are cared for as outpatients, yet little is known about how parents manage their cancer-related pain. The aim of the current study was to examine pain prevalence and characteristics, and the pharmacological, physical, and psychological pain management strategies used by parents to manage their child's cancer pain. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that despite parents' use of pain management strategies, management of cancer-related pain continues to be a problem for children during treatment and into survivorship.
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People with migraine present with varying pain extent and an expanded distribution of perceived pain may reflect central sensitization. The relationship between pain extent and clinical features, psychological outcomes, related disability, and pressure pain sensitivity in migraine has been poorly investigated. Our aim was to investigate whether the perceived pain extent, assessed from pain drawings, relates to measures of pressure pain sensitivity, clinical, psychological outcomes, and related disability in women with episodic migraine. ⋯ Pain extent within the trigeminocervical area was not associated with any of the measured clinical outcomes and not related to the degree of pressure pain sensitization in women with episodic migraine. Further research is needed to determine if the presence of expanded pain areas outside of the trigeminal area can play a relevant role in the sensitization processes in migraine.