Bmc Musculoskel Dis
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2011
Comparative StudyAssociations between proinflammatory cytokines in the synovial fluid and radiographic grading and pain-related scores in 47 consecutive patients with osteoarthritis of the knee.
One of the sources of knee pain in osteoarthritis (OA) is believed to be related to local chronic inflammation of the knee joints, which involves the production of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-6, and nerve growth factor (NGF) in the synovial membrane, and these cytokines are believed to promote pathological OA. In the present study, correlations between proinflammatory cytokines in knee synovial fluid and radiographic changes and functional scores and pain scores among OA patients were examined. ⋯ The present study demonstrated that the concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines are correlated with KL grades and WOMAC scores in patients with knee OA. Although TNFα did not have a significant correlation with the radiographic grading, it was significantly associated with the WOMAC score. IL-6 had a significant negative correlation with the KL grading, whereas it had only a weakly significant correlation with the subscore of stiffness. The results suggest that these cytokines play a role in the pathogenesis of synovitis in osteoarthritic knees in different ways: TNFα is correlated with pain, whereas IL-6 is correlated with joint function.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2011
Written online situational feedback via mobile phone to support self-management of chronic widespread pain: a usability study of a Web-based intervention.
This pretrial study aimed to develop and test the usability of a four-week Internet intervention delivered by a Web-enabled mobile phone to support self-management of chronic widespread pain. ⋯ The results indicate a feasible intervention. Web-applications are fast becoming standard features of mobile phones and interventions of this kind can therefore be more available than before.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2011
Avoidable costs of physical treatments for chronic back, neck and shoulder pain within the Spanish National Health Service: a cross-sectional study.
Back, neck and shoulder pain are the most common causes of occupational disability. They reduce health-related quality of life and have a significant economic impact. Many different forms of physical treatment are routinely used. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of physical treatments which, despite the absence of evidence supporting their effectiveness, were used between 2004 and 2007 for chronic and non-specific neck pain (NP), back pain (BP) and shoulder pain (SP), within the Spanish National Health Service in the Canary Islands (SNHSCI). ⋯ Sixty percent of the resources allocated by the SNHSCI to fund physical treatment for NP, BP and SP in private practices are spent on forms of treatment proven to be ineffective, or for which there is no evidence of effectiveness.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2011
Analysis of deep tissue hypersensitivity to pressure pain in professional pianists with insidious mechanical neck pain.
The aim of this study was to investigate whether pressure pain hyperalgesia is a feature of professional pianists suffering from neck pain as their main playing-related musculoskeletal disorder. ⋯ Our findings revealed pressure pain hypersensitivity over distant non-symptomatic distant points but not over the symptomatic areas in pianists suffering from neck pain. In addition, pianists with neck pain also had smaller hand size than those without neck pain. Future studies are needed to further determine the relevance of these findings in the clinical course of neck pain as playing-related musculoskeletal disorder in professional pianists.
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Bmc Musculoskel Dis · Jan 2011
The influence of 'significant others' on persistent back pain and work participation: a qualitative exploration of illness perceptions.
Individual illness perceptions have been highlighted as important influences on clinical outcomes for back pain. However, the illness perceptions of 'significant others' (spouse/partner/close family member) are rarely explored, particularly in relation to persistent back pain and work participation. The aim of this study was to initiate qualitative research in this area in order to further understand these wider influences on outcome. ⋯ The findings from this exploratory study reveal how others and wider social circumstances might contribute both to the propensity of persistent back pain and to its consequences. This is an area that has received little attention to date, and wider support of these findings may usefully inform the design of future intervention programmes aimed at restoring work participation.