European journal of pain : EJP
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of compression at myofascial trigger points in patients with acute low back pain: A randomized controlled trial.
Although there is some evidence that massage therapy, especially compression at myofascial trigger points (MTrPs), is effective for sub-acute and chronic low back pain, the effectiveness of massage therapy with compression at MTrPs for acute low back pain has not been studied. ⋯ These results indicate that compression at MTrPs is effective to treat acute low back pain compared with compression at non-MTrPs and superficial massage. For this article, a commentary is available at the Wiley Online Library.
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There is a paucity of prospective studies with long follow-up that have examined a wide range of correlates associated with persistent pain outcomes in persons who sustained a mild or moderate injury in a road traffic crash. This study aimed to establish the independent predictors of pain severity over 24 months. ⋯ Self-perceived physical well-being, pain-related work disability and pain catastrophizing could play a role in determining long-term pain-related outcomes following traffic-related injuries.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of chronic pain on interpretation bias for ambiguous faces, using a recently developed paradigm with ecologically valid stimuli. ⋯ These results show clear evidence that chronic pain patients do demonstrate an interpretation bias towards painful faces and that this bias is greater for those who catastrophize more and have higher levels of fear of pain, but experienced less pain in the preceding week. Given the recent potential shown for interventions that modify cognitive biases, this paradigm would seem to be well suited to future efforts to modify interpretation biases in pain.
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There are few studies on the use of opioids among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine the 1-year prevalence of prescribed opioid dispensing in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and to compare gender and age differences in the use of weak and strong opioids between the three countries. ⋯ The 1-year prevalence of prescribed opioid use among children and adolescents in Norway was far higher than in Denmark and Sweden. During the study period, an increasing use of opioids among children and adolescents was observed in all three countries.
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It remains unclear to what extent patients recover from chronic non-specific low back pain (NSLBP). The objective of this study was to determine (1) the course of chronic NSLBP in tertiary care and (2) which factors predicted 5- and 12-month outcomes. ⋯ The results of this study indicate that in chronic NSLBP patients, bio-psychosocial prognostic factors may be important for clinicians when predicting recovery in back pain intensity during a 1-year period.