Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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The objective was to assess the effectiveness of neural mobilization (NM) techniques in the management of musculoskeletal neck disorders with nerve-related symptoms (MND-NRS). ⋯ NM appeared to be effective to improve overall pain intensity when embedded in a physiotherapy treatment in the management of MND-NRS. When compared with no intervention, it was effective to improve neck rotation, disability, and function. However, it was not superior to other types of treatments in improving overall pain intensity, neck pain intensity, arm pain intensity, cervical range of motion and disability, except for mechanosensitivity.
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The aim of this study was to characterize the dynamic brain networks underlying the affective modulation of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral image perception due to painful stimulations in healthy subjects. ⋯ Pain and emotions altered brain activity. There was increased connectivity and homophily in the left brain hemisphere for the painful experience. The emotions modulated brain activity in the pain condition. Overall, the brain presented homophilic characteristics; homophily changed, depending on emotion or pain. The left brain hemisphere seems to be related to pain processing.
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Editorial Randomized Controlled Trial
What is a high-quality randomized controlled trial?
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Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) outcomes are affected by numerous variables, including the clinical conversation. When good therapeutic/working alliances are formed, congruent clinical conversations can lead to improved CMP outcomes. Identifying patient/provider attitudes, beliefs, and biases in CMP that can influence the clinical conversation, and thus clinical management decisions, is foundationally important. ⋯ These findings suggest that patients with CMP may experience a marginalized process of care due to HCPs' negative implicit biases, unmet patient expectations, and the health care setting. Results suggest several factors may contribute to inequitable care and the recalcitrant nature of CMP, particularly in vulnerable populations with limited health care choices.
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Oxidative stress plays an important role in neuropathic pain (NP). Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) can exert beneficial effects on pain outcomes in humans and in animal models. SMT can also modulate oxidative stress markers in both humans and animals. We aimed to determine the effect of Impulse®-assisted SMT (ISMT) on nociception and oxidative stress biomarkers in the spinal cords and sciatic nerves of rats with NP. ⋯ Our findings suggest that reduced oxidative stress in the spinal cord and/or nerve may be an important mechanism underlying a therapeutic effect of SMT to manage NP nonpharmacologically.