European journal of pain : EJP
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Pain relief by applying transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) during unsedated colonoscopy: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a noninvasive alternative to traditional pain treatments. TENS has been studied in the past as a pain reduction modality in colonoscopy with limited success. Reviews and meta-analysis have shown that the inconclusive results of TENS may be due to the lack of randomized controlled trials and the difficulty in defining precise output parameters. ⋯ On the five-point Likert scale, there was also a significant reduction in pain score in the active TENS group compared to the placebo TENS and control groups (P=0.009). No significant differences were found between the study groups as to the bloating sensation and the duration of the procedure. We conclude that TENS can be used as a pain relief therapy in unsedated screening colonoscopy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Internal validity of inter-digital web pinching as a model for perceptual diffuse noxious inhibitory controls-induced hypoalgesia in healthy humans.
Hot and ice-water immersions are commonly used for heterotopic noxious counter-stimulation (HNCS) in investigations on endogenous pain modulation. However, coincident sympathetic thermoregulatory activity does not allow to differentiate between perceptual hypoalgesia related to baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) or diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC). The present study analysed the internal validity of another supposedly less confounded tonic pain model (inter-digital web pinching; IWP) regarding its potential as DNIC trigger. ⋯ Regardless of pain modality, wind-up was significantly reduced by HNCS, although this was stronger for painful water immersion than for noxious pinching (P<0.01). The HNCS types allow a differentiation between BRS-related and DNIC-like hypoalgesia. IWP proved its validity for DNIC induction, being practically non-confounded by BRS.
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The etiology of post-stroke shoulder pain (PSSP) is largely unclear and may involve both nociceptive and neuropathic mechanisms. No gold standard is present for PSSP diagnosis. The neuropathic pain diagnostic questionnaire (DN4), was originally developed to identify neuropathic pain in the clinical context. ⋯ Notably, several symptoms and signs suggestive of either neuropathic or nociceptive pain corresponded to the subgroups DN4+ and DN4- respectively. However, since the pathophysiological mechanisms remain unclear and none of the sensory signs could be exclusively related to either DN4+ or DN4-, PSSP prognosis and treatment should not be solely based on the DN4. Nonetheless, a thorough assessment of neuropathic and nociceptive pain complaints and somatosensory functions should be included in the diagnostic work-up of PSSP.
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Pressure algometry is widely used to assess deep tissue sensitivity. In this study the relation between pressure-induced pain in humans and stress/strain distribution within the deep tissue is evaluated. A three-dimensional finite-element computer model was used to describe the stress/strain distribution in tissues of the lower leg during pressure stimulation. ⋯ The human pressure pain thresholds with the rounded probe were significantly lower compared with the flat probe (p<0.05). The results suggest that pressure-induced muscle pain is mainly related to muscle strain and most efficiently induced by large rounded probes, while smaller and flat ones mainly activate superficial structures. The relatively low stress in the deep tissue suggests that the mechanosensitivity of nociceptors in the deep tissue is lower compared with nociceptors in the superficial tissue.
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Multicenter Study
Does attrition bias longitudinal population-based studies on back pain?
Longitudinal population studies are a keystone in describing the course of back pain over time. Yet, potential bias because of repeated attrition has received little attention. This study aims to identify those back pain related indicators most susceptible to bias and to discuss practical consequences for back pain research. ⋯ The representativeness of the sample is consecutively reduced because of differential attrition over the different measurement points. Despite this, bias due to attrition has a marginal impact on the point estimates of virtually all back pain related outcomes.