Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A self-administered method of acute pressure block of sciatic nerves for short-term relief of dental pain: a randomized study.
While stimulation of the peripheral nerves increases the pain threshold, chronic pressure stimulation of the sciatic nerve is associated with sciatica. We recently found that acute pressure block of the sciatic nerve inhibits pain. Therefore, we propose that, the pain pathology-causing pressure is chronic, not acute. Here, we report a novel self-administered method: acute pressure block of the sciatic nerves is applied by the patients themselves for short-term relief of pain from dental diseases. ⋯ The self-administered method is easy to learn and can be applied at any time for pain relief. We believe that patients will benefit from this method.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of two different specific neck exercise interventions on palmitoylethanolamide and stearoylethanolamide concentrations in the interstitium of the trapezius muscle in women with chronic neck shoulder pain.
Chronic neck/shoulder pain (CNSP) is one of the most common pain conditions. The understanding of mechanisms, including the peripheral balance between nociceptive and antinociceptive processes, is incomplete. N-acylethanolamines (NAEs) are a class of endogenous compounds that regulate inflammation and pain. The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of two NAEs: the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor type-α ligand palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and stearoylethanolamide (SEA) in the muscle interstitium of the trapezius muscle in women with CNSP randomized to two different neck specific training programs and in a healthy pain-free control group (CON). ⋯ Our results indicate that exercise interventions differentially affect the levels of the bioactive lipids PEA and SEA in the interstitium of the trapezius muscle in women with CNSP.
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This study aims to evaluate correlates of gait speed, a measure of disability, in older adults with advanced knee osteoarthritis (OA) and chronic pain. ⋯ In a cross-sectional study of older adults with advanced knee OA and chronic pain, we found that age, arthritis function self-efficacy, and opioid use (but not dose) were significantly associated with decreased gait speed.
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Clinical Trial
CT-guided percutaneous infrazygomatic radiofrequency neurolysis through foramen rotundum to treat V2 trigeminal neuralgia.
Percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation or neurolysis of Gasserian ganglion through foramen ovale (FO) is the classical approach to treat trigeminal neuralgia (TN). However, it has been technically challenging when individual trigeminal sub-branch nerve block is desired through this approach. We have thus developed a novel computed tomograph-guided technique to block the V2 trigeminal nerve through foramen rotundum (FR). With this technique, we have conducted a study of 27 patients with isolated V2 TN. We hypothesize that this new technique will have comparable clinical outcome with the conventional FO approach. ⋯ We have developed a novel technique to selectively block the V2 trigeminal nerve at FR. This novel FR approach may be a good alternative to the classical FO approach when an isolated V2 branch block is desired.