The Clinical journal of pain
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Fibromyalgia (FM) is a type of chronic musculoskeletal pain without a clear peripheral origin of nociception, often associated with depression. The underlying pathophysiology involves changes in a functional network that is related to pain and emotional processing in the central nervous system. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex or the occipital nerve (ON) is a noninvasive neuromodulation technique capable of improving fibromyalgia symptoms. This study aims to test the effect of combining 2 targets of stimulation using tDCS. ⋯ This study suggests that adding right-anode bifrontal tDCS to ONS has no added benefit in improving fibromyalgia-related symptoms.
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To identify factors associated with low back pain (LBP) in children and adolescents. ⋯ Future studies should focus on muscle characteristics, the relationship between body and backpack weights, duration of carrying the backpack, characteristics of sport practice, and which are the factors associated with specifically chronic pain.
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To investigate the efficacy of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists for neuropathic pain (NeuP) and review literature to determine if specific pharmacologic agents provide adequate NeuP relief. ⋯ There are a variety of NMDAR antagonist agents that should be considered for treatment of NeuP. Nevertheless, continued and further investigation of the 8 pharmacologic agents is needed to continue to evaluate their efficacy for treatment of NeuP.
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Observational Study
Short-term Impact of Assisted Deliveries: Evaluation Based on Behavioral Pain Scoring and Heart Rate Variability.
Assisted deliveries (ADs) are used in current practice by obstetrical teams during labor when the fetus is likely to face difficulties. In this study, we hypothesized that pain related to instrumental delivery could impair autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. ⋯ ADs (vacuum, forceps, or both) are associated with persistent pain after birth, unlike normal vaginal deliveries. Moreover ADs are associated with reduced NIPE. Taken together, our results suggest that pain related to instrumental delivery impairs the ANS activity.
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Sickle cell disease (SCD) pain and hospitalizations increase during adolescence and adolescents with SCD may be at-risk for experiencing health-related stigma, which may result in poor health outcomes. This study examined relations among health-related stigma, pain interference, social support, quality of life (QOL), and hospital outcomes (ie, loneliness, pain reduction, and length of stay [LOS]) in adolescents hospitalized with SCD pain. ⋯ These preliminary findings highlight the importance of assessing and addressing SCD-related stigma and pain interference in adolescents hospitalized for SCD pain as these factors may influence treatment outcomes.