European journal of pain : EJP
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Aberrations of cardiovascular regulation and dysfunction of endogenous pain modulation have been reported in fibromyalgia (FM) patients. This study aimed at investigating the interactions between cardiovascular regulation and pain perception during static muscle contractions. Seventeen FM patients and 17 healthy controls performed a standardised static contraction (m. quadriceps femoris dx) until exhaustion. ⋯ In conclusion, no indication of an attenuated cardiovascular response to exercise was found in our FM patients. The more pronounced HR increase in patients during contraction was most likely due to deconditioning. No exercise related change in PPTs was seen in either group, most likely due to insufficient exercise intensity, but the contraction induced pain was more pronounced in the FM patients.
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Persistent non-cancer pain is a common reason for consultation in primary care but treatment options, including non-opioid analgesics, are limited, and neither strong evidence nor established guidelines address when and how primary care doctors should prescribe opioid analgesics for persistent non-cancer pain. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between doctors' prescribing patterns for persistent non-cancer pain in primary care and their personal and practice characteristics and beliefs about appropriateness and risks of opioids. A pilot survey sampled beliefs concerning the need for and risks of opioid prescribing for persistent non-cancer pain among volunteers from primary care practices and postgraduate educational events, using a self-report questionnaire, and related these beliefs to their reported opioid prescribing. ⋯ Both prescribers and non-prescribers expressed concern about the risks of opioids. In addition, most primary care doctors were dissatisfied with their training on pain; few had prescribing guidelines; and neither training nor guidelines influenced prescribing. In conclusion, whether or not GPs prescribe opioids for persistent non-cancer pain is mainly determined by their personal beliefs about appropriateness of opioids for this problem.
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Using immunohistochemical methods we determined the presence of SP- and CGRP-immunopositive nerve fibers in the hip joint of patients with femoral neck fracture (controls, group 1), painful osteoarthritis (group 2), and painless failed total hip arthroplasties (group 3). Immunoreactive nerve fibers were found in the soft tissue of the fossa acetabuli as well as in the subintimal part of the synovial layer in the hip joint capsule of groups 1 and 2. In the capsule of controls the innervation density had a median of 5.7fibers/cm(2) for CGRP-ir and 3.2fibers/cm(2) for SP-ir afferents. ⋯ This is supported by the fact, that patients with loosened total hip arthroplasties, where we failed to detect SP- and CGRP-immunoreactive fibers, did not feel pain. The upregulation of SP- and CGRP-positive neurons in response to arthritic stages suggests a mechanism involving neuropeptides in the maintenance of a painful degenerative joint disease and in mediating noxious stimuli from the periphery. Furthermore, these findings help to explain clinical observations, such as effectiveness of local therapy to control hip pain with intraarticular injection, synovectomy and denervation procedures.
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Although information is available about the prevalence of pain in older adults in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries, very little is known about older adults in other parts of the world. This study reports the prevalence of pain in a randomly selected sample of older adults living in the Mediterranean region of Catalonia. Besides studying the existence of pain at the time of interview, the authors investigated several characteristics of the participants' pain experience: pain onset, number and location of pain sites, intensity of pain, number of days in pain, severity of pain, the extent to which pain interfered with daily life, and expressed needs in relation to pain. ⋯ No clear pattern of the prevalence of regional pain was observed, although joints were the most frequently reported painful place. Pain interfered in the life of a considerable number of participants (35.5%), but no differences in the level of expressed needs was detected between those that were affected and those that were not. This study provides new evidence that pain is an important problem for the older adult, one that severely impacts on their health status, causing disability and reduced ability to function, particularly in older women.