Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
-
Ongoing research continues to expand the knowledge of neuropathic pain. It is vital that established treatments and valuable discoveries ultimately improve patient care. ⋯ New, and even conventional, therapies are often not pursued, despite inadequate pain control. Several issues are discussed, including patient barriers to seeking pain management, patient and physician barriers to analgesic drug therapy, and appropriate use of and access to multidisciplinary pain centres. Failure to implement therapeutic advances in pain management not only hinders improvement in patient care, but also may render futile decades of research. Widespread professional, patient and public education, as well as continued interdisciplinary research on treatment barriers, is essential.
-
The effects of specific emotional states on a laboratory pain task were tested by examining the behavioural, verbal and psychophysiological responses of 80 student volunteers (50% female). Participants were assigned to one of four Velten-style emotion-induction conditions (ie, anxiety, depression, elation or neutral). The sexes of experimenters were counterbalanced. ⋯ Emotion induction did not have a discernable effect on pain tolerance or severity ratings in the elation condition. A pattern of participant and experimenter sex effects, as well as trials effects, was seen in the physiological data. The influence of negative affective states (ie, anxiety and depression) on acute pain are discussed along with the unique contributions of behavioural, verbal and physiological response systems in understanding the interactions of pain and emotions.
-
Comparative Study
Chronic pain in Canada--prevalence, treatment, impact and the role of opioid analgesia.
To assess the prevalence, treatment and impact of chronic pain in Canada. ⋯ Chronic noncancer pain is common in Canadian adults and has a major social and economic impact. Despite growing evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of major opioid analgesics for chronic noncancer pain, less than 10% of chronic pain patients taking prescription medication were treated with a major opioid. Chronic pain is undertreated in Canada, and major opioid analgesics are probably underutilized in the management of moderate to severe pain as part of a multidisciplinary treatment program.
-
To investigate the role of disturbed sleep in the daily functioning of persons with chronic pain. subjects and ⋯ Sleep disruption is usually considered to be a consequence of the pain experience. However, the results of the present study reinforce the view that sleep disturbance may have a bidirectional relation with other features of chronic pain. Future studies should confirm that repairing disrupted sleep leads to an improvement in patients' daily activity and a reduction in their suffering.
-
Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Perceived cognitive deficits, emotional distress and disability following whiplash injury.
To describe the pattern of perceived cognitive deficits in patients with whiplash injury, to examine the relation between perceived cognitive deficits and disability, and to examine the determinants of perceived cognitive deficits in patients with whiplash injury. ⋯ The potential benefits of focusing interventions on the management of anxiety and depression in the rehabilitation of patients with whiplash injuries are discussed.