European journal of pain : EJP
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Pain from the musculoskeletal system often occurs in more than one site. This appears to affect prognosis negatively. Knowledge about specific pain patterns is lacking. ⋯ Unique clusters of musculoskeletal co-complaints can be determined based on primary pain site. These patterns are different for persons with a primary complaint in the spine compared with persons with a primary complaint in the extremities.
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In healthy humans, analgesia to blunt pressure develops in the ipsilateral forehead during various forms of limb pain. The aim of the current study was to determine whether this analgesic response is induced by ultraviolet B radiation (UVB), which evokes signs of peripheral sensitization, or by high-frequency electrical stimulation (HFS), which triggers signs of central sensitization. ⋯ HFS conditioning induced signs of central sensitization in the forearm and analgesia both in the ipsilateral forehead and the HFS-treated site. This ipsilateral analgesia was not due to peripheral sensitization or other non-specific effects, as it failed to develop after UVB conditioning. Thus, the supra-spinal mechanisms that evoke central sensitization might also trigger a hemilateral inhibitory pain modulation process. This inhibitory process could sharpen the boundaries of central sensitization or limit its spread.
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We investigated the separate and joint effects of multi-site musculoskeletal pain and physical and psychosocial exposures at work on future work ability. ⋯ The decline in work ability connected with multi-site pain was not increased by exposure to adverse physical or psychosocial factors at work.
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Previous studies have shown increases in experimental pain during induction of a negative emotion with visual stimuli, verbal statements or unpleasant odours. The goal of the present study was to analyse the spatio-temporal activation patterns underlying pain augmentation during negative emotional sounds. ⋯ Results suggest increased input of pain-related information into the hippocampal formation when listening to negative emotional sounds, which may in turn facilitate temporal binding between representations of noxious and other behaviourally relevant stimuli, and perhaps associative learning. Absence of the positive potential component fronto-opercular/anterior-insular cortex during negative sounds points to a slow attentional disengagement from pain and increased awareness of the painful stimulus.
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Emerging research suggests that perceiving injustice can compound the suffering of chronic pain, while perceiving justice serves as a positive psychological resource in this context. However, little more is currently known about the function of justice beliefs, particularly in the context of acute pain. The present study undertook this investigation, using cold pressor methodology to investigate whether trusting in the fairness of the world would help someone to cope with short-term pain. ⋯ The observed gender differences may be attributed to gender variations in cognitive appraisals of the task. Overall, while perceived injustice may be undesirable and a potential target for intervention, perceived justice is not necessarily a desired cognition in pain. Research is needed to replicate and extend this emerging research.