The Clinical journal of pain
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The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of repeated painful stimuli on short-term pain response in healthy, term, large for gestational age newborns by measuring the regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rScO2), and behavioral and physiological responses. ⋯ We showed that rScO2 values changed significantly within the first few days of life in babies who received more painful stimuli compared with the control group, similar to behavioral and physiological responses.
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Somatosensory abnormalities are linked to clinical pain outcomes in individuals with spinal pain. However, a range of factors might confound the relationship between altered somatosensory function and clinical pain outcomes. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the literature to assess the level of evidence of associations between psychological, social, physical activity, and sleep measures and somatosensory function (assessed via sensory psychophysical testing) among individuals with spinal pain. ⋯ Psychological factors are associated negatively with pain thresholds and they need to be adjusted when establishing predictive relationships between somatosensory function and pain outcomes in individuals with spinal pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Deceptive and Nondeceptive Placebos to Reduce Pain: An Experimental Study in Healthy Individuals.
Recent research has shown that placebos can be effective even if they are openly prescribed to participants. Yet, it is unclear how such "open-label placebos" (OLPs) compare to deceptive placebo (DP) and what the mechanisms of actions are. In this study, we therefore compared 2 versions of OLP to DP and no treatment (NT). ⋯ The study provided evidence for traditional placebo analgesia on the basis of deception. For OLP, we found that OLP indeed increased pain tolerance; however, participants receiving OLP were reluctant to report any subjective analgesic effects. Combined with previous studies, the present findings suggest that the effects of OLP are weaker in healthy volunteers than in clinical samples.
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The objective of the review is to determine whether conditioned pain modulation (CPM) is impaired in adults with chronic low back pain (CLBP) when compared with pain-free individuals. ⋯ High-quality research is strongly recommended to determine the function of endogenous pain modulatory mechanisms in CLBP.
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Observational Study
Pretreatment Exercise-induced Hypoalgesia is Associated With Change in Pain and Function After Standardized Exercise Therapy in Painful Knee Osteoarthritis.
Exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH), a measure of descending pain inhibitory control, has been found hyperalgesic in subgroups of painful knee osteoarthritis (KOA) patients. The effect of standardized exercise therapy (ET) on clinical pain intensity in KOA has been demonstrated. However, the prognostic value of EIH in KOA patients completing an ET program has not been investigated. This study investigated the prognostic value of EIH on pain relief following ET in KOA patients. ⋯ These preliminary and exploratory results suggest that patients with a high EIH response before a standardized ET program may be associated with a large improvement in pain after treatment. This measure may potentially help clinicians as a prognostic tool for outcome prediction following ET in KOA patients.