European journal of pain : EJP
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Pain remains a prevalent symptom for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients despite a wide therapeutic choice. The objective of this study was to provide a multidimensional evaluation of pain. ⋯ Substantial proportion of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients still experiences relevant pain, although more than 80% on biological treatment. Pain is primarily associated with anxiety and depression scores and with disease activity score. These findings highlight the need to assess patients' mental well-being alongside. Clinical measures of disease activity to better manage pain and guide treatment decisions.
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Self-compassion is associated with disability, pain-related anxiety as well as depression and anger in patients with chronic pain. However, the unique value of self-compassion versus other concepts such as psychological flexibility and self-esteem is unknown. The present study therefore aimed to clarify these relationships. ⋯ SIGNIFICANCE: Applying a longitudinal design, this study examined the predictive value of self-compassion regarding pain, depression and anger. The relevance of self-compassion was compared to psychological flexibility and self-esteem. We can conclude that psychological flexibility, in terms of avoidance behaviour, is the most relevant predictor concerning pain.
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Central sensitization represents a key pathophysiological mechanism underlying the development of neuropathic pain, often manifested clinically as mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia. Adopting a mechanism-based treatment approach relies highly on the ability to assess the presence of central sensitization. The aim of the study was to investigate potential pain-autonomic readouts to operationalize experimentally induced central sensitization in the area of secondary hyperalgesia. ⋯ Our findings provide evidence that combined recordings of sympathetic skin responses (SSRs) and pinprick evoked potentials (PEPs) might be able to unmask central sensitization induced through a well-established experimental pain model in healthy individuals. As such, these novel readouts of central sensitization might attain new insights towards complementing clinical pain phenotyping.
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In line with research highlighting the role of observer appraisals in understanding individuals' pain experience, recent work has demonstrated the effects of parental child- and self-oriented injustice appraisals on child pain-related outcomes. However, research on parental injustice appraisals is in its infancy and lacks a valid and context-specific operationalization of what parental injustice appraisals of child pain precisely entail. The current study presents an in-depth qualitative analysis of parental child- and self-oriented appraisals of injustice in the context of their child's chronic pain. ⋯ The current study presents an in-depth qualitative analysis of parental appraisals of injustice in the context of their child's chronic pain condition. The findings provide valuable insights into the phenomenology of this construct and may inform future research and assessment methods. Furthermore, the themes reported in this study may contribute to clinical practice, as they may raise awareness of parental concerns regarding their child's pain management.
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We aimed to investigate the conduction velocity of the cold spinal pathway in healthy humans. ⋯ This neurophysiological study provides previously unreported findings on cold spinal pathway conduction velocity in healthy humans. Cold-evoked potentials may represent an alternative to laser-evoked potential recording, useful to assess spinothalamic tract in patients with spinal cord lesions and monitor patients during spinal surgery.