The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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The Original Pain Recall Assessment form (OPRA) is a technique that allows people to report on their pattern of pain over time. This investigation reports on the psychometric properties of the OPRA. Our results are analyzed from a cognitive-behavioral perspective. Correlation analyses on data from 72 respondents indicate that participants' patterns of symptoms recalled on the OPRA over a 28-day period were positively related to previous daily diary reports. Symptom ratings on an adapted OPRA showed different patterns of association with past symptom reports in distinct subgroups. A hypothesized, primacy recency effect of the diary procedure on symptom recall was supported. Statistics designed for use with paired, ordered categorical data showed acceptable agreement between diary ratings and those made at recall. In a basic research setting, the form offers the potential to evaluate individual correlates of pain recall. It can also be used at an individual level to describe the character of disagreement with prior ratings. ⋯ This article presents the psychometric properties of a pain-assessment procedure. Our results suggest that the way people recall their symptoms is related to cognitive, emotional, and behavioral correlates of the pain experience. The importance of individual differences in overt and covert behaviors and their relationship to persistent pain complaints warrants further attention.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
L2 spinal nerve-block effects on acute low back pain from osteoporotic vertebral fracture.
Elderly patients with osteoporosis sometimes experience lumbar vertebral fracture and may feel diffuse nonlocalized pain in the back, the lateral portion of the trunk, and the area surrounding the iliac crest. The pattern of sensory innervation of vertebral bodies remains unclear. Some sensory nerves from the L2 and L5 vertebral bodies may enter the paravertebral sympathetic trunks and reach the L2 dorsal root ganglion. Our randomized controlled study was to clarify the effect of L2 spinal nerve block on low back pain originating from acute osteoporotic lumbar vertebral fracture. Patients with low back pain originating from acute L3 or L4 osteoporotic vertebral fractures received a spinal nerve root block (L2 block group, n = 30) or subcutaneous injection (control, n = 30). Both groups received 1.5 mL of 1% lidocaine. The visual analog scale score, Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, and Short Form questionnaire were examined before and after treatment. In both groups, spinal nerve blocks were significantly effective in alleviating low back pain (P < .05). One hour, 1 week, and 2 weeks after treatment, the visual analog scale score improved more in the L2 block group than in the control group (P < .05). From 1 month to 4 months after treatment, there were no significant differences in the pain scores between groups (P > .05). We conclude that L2 spinal nerve block for acute L3 or L4 osteoporotic vertebral body fracture was effective for 2 weeks, but it had no long-term effects on pain and social function. ⋯ L2 spinal nerve block treatment for L3 or L4 osteoporotic vertebral body fracture was effective. This results suggest that the L2 dorsal root ganglion may innervate the L3 and L4 vertebral bodies in humans. L2 spinal nerve block for lumbar osteoporotic vertebral fracture may be a useful strategy to treat acute low back pain.
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Bodily representations of the primary somatosensory (SI) cortex are constantly modified according to sensory input. Increased input due to training as well as loss of input due to deafferentation are reflected as changes in the extent of cortical representations. Recent studies in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) patients have indicated that the chronic pain itself is associated with cortical reorganization. However, it is unclear whether the observed reorganization is specific for CRPS or if it can be detected also in other types of chronic pain. We therefore searched for signs of cortical reorganization in a group of 8 patients who suffered from chronic pain associated with herpes simplex virus infections. The pain was widespread but restricted to unilateral side of the body and included the upper limb. We recorded neuromagnetic responses to tactile stimulation of fingers of both hands in patients and in a group of healthy, matched control subjects. In the patients, the distance between the thumb (D1) and little finger (D5) representations in SI cortex was statistically significantly smaller in the hemisphere contralateral to painful side than in the hemisphere contralateral to healthy side. In the control subjects, the D1-D5 distance was the same in both hemispheres. ⋯ The present results indicate that cortical reorganization occurs in chronic neuropathic pain patients even without peripheral nerve damage. It is possible that cortical reorganization is related to chronic pain, regardless of its etiology. Causality between reorganization and chronic pain should be examined further to develop therapeutic approaches for chronic pain.
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Existing evidence indicates that pain catastrophizing is associated with enhanced pain reports and lower pain threshold/tolerance levels, but is not significantly related to nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) threshold in healthy and clinical pain samples. This suggests pain catastrophizing may modulate pain threshold at a supraspinal level without influencing descending modulation of spinal nociceptive inputs. To examine this issue further, the present study assessed NFR threshold, electrocutaneous pain threshold, and electrocutaneous pain tolerance, as well as subjective ratings of noxious stimuli in a sample of 105 healthy adults. Pain catastrophizing was assessed prior to testing using traditional instructions and after pain testing with instructions to report on cognitions during testing (situation-specific catastrophizing). As expected, NFR threshold was correlated with pain sensitivity measures, but uncorrelated with both measures of catastrophizing. Although situation-specific catastrophizing was correlated with some pain outcomes, neither catastrophizing measure (traditional or situation specific) moderated the relationship between NFR and pain sensitivity. These findings confirm and extend existing evidence that catastrophizing influences pain reports through supraspinal mechanisms (eg, memory, report bias, attention) without altering transmission of spinal nociceptive signals. ⋯ Assessing catastrophic thoughts related to a specific painful event (situation-specific catastrophizing) provides important additional information regarding the negative cognitions that influence pain-related processes. However, neither situation-specific nor traditionally measured pain catastrophizing appear to enhance pain by engaging descending controls to influence spinal nociceptive processes.
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Mild knee pain is a common symptom in later life. Despite this fact, there are few data on the impact of it worsening or how individuals alter their appraisals and behavior when it becomes severe. We sought to describe the changes that accompany a substantial deterioration in characteristic knee pain. A nested case-control analysis of existing cohort data identified 57 adults aged over 50 years experiencing progression from mild to severe characteristic pain intensity 18 months later and compared them, before and after this transition, with 228 controls whose knee pain did not progress. Worsening knee pain was accompanied by a marked increase in pain frequency and extent, functional limitation, depressive symptoms, catastrophising, praying and hoping, and use of oral and topical analgesia. Most individuals consulted a general practitioner either during or after this episode. Although relatively rare, substantial deterioration in knee pain has a major impact on those affected. Timely presentation to primary care, addressing potentially unhelpful appraisals and coping strategies, reinforcing core nonpharmacological management, and future research to identify triggering events for substantial deterioration and loss of adequate pain control should be part of an agenda to improve care for this important minority of older adults with knee pain. ⋯ This article describes what happens when the common symptom of mild knee pain in later life becomes significantly worse. The results may help clinicians understand the health impact, changes in patient appraisal and coping, and treatments that typically accompany this change in symptoms.