Rheumatology
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For the purposes of meta-analysis and network meta-analysis, the use of standard outcome measures is ideal. In OA research, the WOMAC was developed as an OA-specific measure of disability. It includes a pain subscale. In 1994 a consensus meeting recommended the use of WOMAC as a primary measure of efficacy in OA. In the context of a review of the efficacy of physical interventions for the relief of the pain of OA of the knee, we investigated the use of WOMAC. ⋯ Poor reporting of both the WOMAC pain subscale and the WOMAC index resulted in significant uncertainty in the interpretation of the results of individual trials and limited their contribution to evidence synthesis. Improved adherence with the standard use of the WOMAC scoring system, with clear reporting of it in trials of OA of the knee should be encouraged.
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To develop evidence-based recommendations for pain management by pharmacotherapy in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA). ⋯ Eleven evidence-based recommendations on the management of pain by pharmacotherapy in IA were developed. They are supported by a large panel of rheumatologists from 17 countries, thus enhancing their utility in clinical practice.
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To determine whether motor imagery performance is disrupted in patients with painful knee OA and if this disruption is specific to the location of the pain. ⋯ Motor imagery performance is disrupted in patients with knee OA, but is also disrupted in patients with arm pain. Accuracy of left/right judgements is disrupted in a spatially defined manner, raising the important possibility that brain-grounded maps of peripersonal space contribute to the cortical proprioceptive representation.
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Incongruence between sensory feedback and motor output may serve as an ongoing source of nociception inside the CNS, and hence may contribute to the development of chronic whiplash associated disorder (WAD). It has been demonstrated that sensorimotor incongruence exacerbates symptoms and provokes additional sensations in patients with chronic pain. This study aimed to evaluate whether a visually mediated incongruence between motor output and sensory input aggravates symptoms and triggers additional sensations in patients with chronic WAD. ⋯ This study demonstrates an exacerbation of symptoms and/or additional sensory changes due to reducing or disturbing the visual input during action, indicating altered sensorimotor central nervous processing and altered perception of distorted visual feedback in chronic WAD.