Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Several research groups established functional tests to obtain performance data for mobility-related activities in patients with low back pain (LBP). In our study we aimed to assess the construct validity and associations with other measures of a battery of functional tests in relationship to physical performance on the one hand and physical capacity and variables of pain, disability and psychological variables on the other. ⋯ In contrast to the past and present literature, our results suggest that physical performance tests have an inherent problem to sharply differentiate patients with back pain from healthy controls and problems with inter-rater reliability. Physical performance seems to be more a matter of patients' perception of generalized disability than of restricted function.
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Review Meta Analysis
Pain is associated with recurrent falls in community-dwelling older adults: evidence from a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Pain and recurrent falls are highly problematic in community-dwelling older adults, yet the association remains elusive. ⋯ Older adults with pain are at particularly increased risk of recurrent falls. Clinicians working with recurrent fallers should routinely assess pain while pain specialists should inquire about older adults' falls history.
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There is growing interest in the use of sublingual buprenorphine for the treatment of chronic pain due to the unique pharmacology of buprenorphine, widespread use of the transdermal buprenorphine patch for chronic pain, and recent availability of sublingual buprenorphine tablets for the treatment of opioid dependence. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence from clinical trials that have assessed the effectiveness of sublingual buprenorphine for chronic pain analgesia. ⋯ Preliminary trials suggest a plausible role; however, due to a paucity of high-quality trials, the current evidence is insufficient to determine the effectiveness of sublingual buprenorphine for the treatment of chronic pain. Rigorous further trials are warranted.