The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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The present study examined how multiple chronic pain conditions and pain sites are associated with sociodemographics, chronic pain adjustment profiles, and emotional distress. A total of 2,407 individuals who reported at least 6 months of having consistent pain severity, pain interference, and/or emotional burden due to pain were recruited through random digit dialing across the United States. Participants' chronic pain adjustment profiles (ie, pain intensity, pain interference, emotional burden, pain catastrophizing, pain coping, pain attitudes, and social resources) were assessed. ⋯ Having multiple pain conditions and sites may represent a psychosocial barrier to successful adjustment to chronic pain. PERSPECTIVE: This article argues for the importance of assessing the number of co-occurring chronic pain conditions and bodily areas that are affected by pain in both pain research and clinical settings. Measuring and incorporating such information could potentially enhance our nascent understanding of the adjustment processes of chronic pain.
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Review
ARE FUNCTIONAL BRAIN ALTERATIONS PRESENT IN LOW BACK PAIN? A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF EEG STUDIES.
This systematic review analyzed available literature on functional brain alterations in low back pain (LBP) measured with electroencephalography (EEG), as until now evidence thereof was unclear. Four electronic databases were systematically searched the 10th of March 2018, resulting in 12 included studies. Studies showed a risk of bias of 37.5 to 75% using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for case-control studies. ⋯ Most studies examined nonspecific or mixed CLBP populations, hence EEG-quantified brain activity in (sub)acute or recurrent LBP still needs to be explored. PERSPECTIVE: This review presents an overview of the current understanding of the functional LBP brain measured with EEG. The limited evidence in current research suggests altered cortical function regarding balance control, somatosensory processing, and decision making in LBP, and highlights opportunities for future EEG-research.
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Previous studies have documented that racial minorities and women receive poorer pain care than their demographic counterparts. Providers contribute to these disparities when their pain-related decision-making systematically varies across patient groups. Less is known about racial and gender disparities in children with pain or the extent to which providers contribute to these disparities. ⋯ Future studies are needed to elucidate specific paths through which the pain experience and care of children differ across racial and gender groups. PERSPECTIVE: Providers' pain assessment (ie, pain distress/pain interference) and treatment (ie, opioids) of pediatric pain differs across patient race and to a lesser extent, patient gender. This study represents a critical step in research on pain-related disparities in pediatric pain.
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A growing pediatric and adult literature highlights the role of injustice appraisals in adjustment to pain. However, interpersonal injustice dynamics have remained largely unexplored. The present study investigated the factor structure and criterion validity of parentally adjusted versions of the Injustice Experience Questionnaire, assessing child-oriented (IEQ-Pc) and self-oriented appraisals (IEQ-Ps) in the context of child pain. ⋯ Current findings support the unique role of parental injustice appraisals, assessed by the IEQ-Pc and IEQ-Ps, in understanding child pain, but also suggest these may only partially capture the phenomenology of parental injustice appraisals in the context of child pain. PERSPECTIVE: This manuscript presents an examination of the construct and criterion validity of 2 parentally adjusted versions of the Injustice Experience Questionnaire. These measures could be valuable tools for clinicians in examining how parents respond to their child's pain as it impacts both the child's life and the parents'.
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This study aims to 1) examine the temporal influence of peer victimization on mood, sleep quality, pain, and activity limitations in clinical and community samples of youth, and 2) test mood and sleep as mediators of peer victimization-pain pathways. One hundred fifty-six adolescents (n = 74 chronic pain group) completed a week of online diary monitoring assessing their daily peer victimization experiences, negative mood, sleep quality, pain intensity, and pain-related activity limitations. In multilevel models controlling for group status, person-mean peer victimization (averaged across days) significantly predicted worse mood, pain, and activity limitations (all Ps < .01) while daily victimization predicted worse mood (P < .05). ⋯ Peer victimization is associated with negative health indicators in clinical and community samples of youth and may exert its influence on pain and pain-related activity limitations through negative mood. PERSPECTIVE: This article examines the temporal influence of peer victimization on pain in adolescents with and without chronic pain, and examines mood and sleep quality as mechanisms linking victimization to pain. This information may be useful for pain prevention researchers as well as providers who assess and treat pain in childhood.