Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM) are two debilitating, moderately comorbid illnesses in which chronic musculoskeletal pain symptoms are prevalent. These individuals can experience post-exertional malaise (PEM), a phenomenon in which symptom severity is worsened for 24 hours or longer after physical stress, but the pain-related component of PEM is not well characterized. ⋯ People with ME/CFS and FM experience small to moderate increases in pain severity after exercise, which confirms pain as a component of PEM and emphasizes its debilitating impact in ME/CFS and FM. Future directions include determining mechanisms of pain-related PEM and developing exercise prescriptions that minimize symptom exacerbation in these illnesses.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Community Perspectives on Patient Credibility and Provider Burden in the Treatment of Chronic Pain.
This study examined factors influencing lay perceptions of a provider's clinical burden in providing care to a person with chronic pain. ⋯ The lay public is skeptical of chronic pain that is not supported by medical evidence or is reported at high levels of severity, raising concerns about psychosocial complications and drug seeking and expectations of higher burden of care. Such negative stereotypes can pose obstacles to people seeking necessary care if they or others develop a chronic pain condition.
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Observational Study
Cervical Multifidus Morphology and Quality is not Associated with Clinical Variables in Women with Fibromyalgia: An Observational Study.
Some studies have reported the presence of histological alterations, such as myofiber disorganization and abnormalities in the number and shape of mitochondria, in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Although Ultrasound imaging (US) is used to quantitatively characterize muscle tissues, US studies in patients with FMS are lacking. Therefore, we aimed to describe morphological and qualitative cervical multifidus (CM) muscle US features in women with FMS and to assess their correlation with clinical indicators. ⋯ Our results showed no side-to-side differences for CM morphology and quality as assessed with US. No associations between CM muscle morphology or quality and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, pressure pain threshold, numerical pain rating scale score, or evolution time were observed. Our preliminary data suggest that muscle morphology is not directly related to pain and pain-related disability in women with FMS.
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This study aimed to better understand the associations between both sleep disturbance and psychological dysfunction (i.e., anxiety and depressive symptoms, and anger), and pain intensity and pain interference, in a sample of children with chronic pain. ⋯ The results confirmed significant cross-sectional associations between both sleep disturbance and psychological dysfunction and pain outcomes in children with chronic pain. Future research to test for causal associations is warranted.