European journal of pain : EJP
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In peripheral tissue, several substances influence pain and pain modulation. Exercise has been found to decrease pain and improve function for chronic pain conditions, but how and why exercise produces beneficial effects remains unclear. This study investigates whether aspects of pain and concentrations of substances with algesic, analgesic and metabolic functions differ between women with chronic neck shoulder pain (CNSP) and healthy women (CON) and whether changes are found after an exercise intervention for CNSP. ⋯ The findings at baseline indicated algesic and analgesic alterations in the painful trapezius muscles. The findings for CNSP after the exercise intervention, with changes in peripheral substances and decreased pain intensity and sensitivity, could reflect a long-term physiological effect of the exercise.
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Primary dysmenorrhoea (PDM) is inexorably common. PDM women suffer from cramping pain in the lower abdomen that starts with menstruation and lasts for 24-72 h. Up to 90% of adolescent girls and more than 50% of menstruating women worldwide report suffering from it. Ten to 20% of PDM women describe their suffering as severe and distressing. However, nothing is known regarding the association of PDM with possible brain anomalies or abnormalities. ⋯ We report here that otherwise healthy PDMs are associated with high prevalence of normal variants but not brain abnormalities. Our observations invite further epidemiological and neuroscientific studies.
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Sleep deprivation induces hyperalgesia. However, this pro-nociceptive effect is not reflected at the electrophysiological level, since sleep restricted subjects show amplitude reduction of Laser-evoked Potentials (LEP). We aimed to explore the contribution of habituation to this paradoxical LEP amplitude decline. ⋯ TSD induces hyperalgesia and results in attention-dependent enhanced habituation of the P2 component. Increased habituation may--to a substantial degree--explain the TSD-induced LEP-amplitude decline. For this article, a commentary is available at the Wiley Online Library.
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Identification of mechanisms for pain/hyperalgesia following spinal cord injury requires long-term evaluation of individual subjects because of the variability in effect over time for humans. ⋯ Histology revealed that hyperalgesia occurred when there was: (1) damage to spinal white matter; or (2) cystic cavitation; or (3) compression and distortion of the spinal cord without an obvious loss of grey or white matter.
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Pain drawings (PDs) are an important component of the assessment of a patient with pain. The aim of this work is to present the test-retest reliability of a novel method of quantifying the extent and location of pain. Additionally, the association between PD variables and clinical features in patients with chronic neck pain (CNP) and chronic low back pain (CLBP) was explored. ⋯ A novel method for the acquisition of PD was presented. Test-retest reliability of reporting pain extent and pain location was supported in people with CNP and CLBP. Future research is needed to establish psychometric properties of PD.