Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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There is evidence that the pressure pain threshold (PPT) is reduced in children with migraine and that it varies according to age, sex, and region of the body. However, in view of the lack of consensus in the literature, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the PPT in children with migraine of both genders aged 6-12 years. ⋯ Comparison of the PPTs between sites revealed that the pericranial and cervical regions showed a lower PPT than the extracephalic sites in children with migraine.
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Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a narrowing of the spinal canal that causes mechanical compression of the spinal nerve roots. The compression of these nerve roots can cause leg pain, as well as neurogenic claudication. Lumbar epidural steroid injections have commonly been used in patients with LSS. The aim of our study was to determine the relationship between the severity of LSS using a grading system (grade 1 = mild stenosis with separation of all cauda equina; grade 2 = moderate stenosis with some cauda equina aggregated; grade 3 = severe stenosis with none of the cauda equina separated) and the subject's response to computed tomography-guided lumbar epidural steroid injection (CTG-LESI) and to evaluate the short-term effectiveness. ⋯ The grade of LSS appears to have no effect on the degree of pain relief associated with CTG-LESI. However, CTG-LESI seems to provide effective short-term pain relief due to LSS.
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In addition to central nervous sensitization, affect dysregulation constitutes an important factor in the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). The present study is concerned with emotional influences on information processing in FMS. The hypothesis of attentional bias, i.e., selective processing of negatively connoted stimuli, was tested. ⋯ The study provides evidence of emotionally driven selective attention in FMS. Attentional bias to negative information may play an important role in the vicious circle between negative affective state and pain augmentation. In the management of FMS pain, strategies aiming at conscious direction of attention may be helpful, e.g., imagery techniques or mindfulness training.