Pain physician
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Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to nonspecific low back pain (Ns-LBP); however, the role of inflammation as a possible mediator between vitamin D levels and Ns-LBP is not well understood. ⋯ Patients with Ns-LBP had lower vitamin D and higher inflammatory marker levels. This association between hypovitaminosis D and Ns-CLBP may be mediated by IL-6. Therefore, large-scale clinical trials are warranted to investigate the clinical efficacy of vitamin D supplementation for decreasing inflammation and relieving Ns-LBP.
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Evidence suggests that a significant proportion of terminal cancer patients have uncontrolled or inadequately controlled pain when using the World Health Organization (WHO) analgesic ladder approach. The use of interventional techniques has proven to reduce pain that is refractory to conventional methods. However, despite the use of well-established techniques (e.g., intrathecal drug delivery, celiac plexus blocks, etc), nonneuraxial, catheter-based techniques remain underutilized. ⋯ Nonneuraxial, catheter-based techniques have the potential to play a significant role in the treatment of terminal cancer pain. Despite limited data, initial findings indicate that nonneuraxial, catheter-based techniques have the potential to bridge the gap between single shot interventions and surgical implanted devices by providing an effective, continuous therapy, with a lower risk profile.
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Chronic pain affects 20 to 30% of the adult population worldwide and is consequently the leading cause of disability. Current developments in brain imaging technology are increasing the understanding of the pathophysiology of (chronic) pain and enabling the possibility to objectify pain. As a result, our view of the brain has evolved from a static organ to a dynamic organ that constitutes an adaptable network of linked regions. Graph theory has emerged as a framework to analyze such networks and can be applied to investigate a range of topological properties of both the functional and structural brain network or connectome, thus providing meaningful information about the organization of human brain networks. ⋯ Differences between chronic pain patients and healthy controls were mostly observed for the global graph measures. Future research is still needed to validate the obtained findings and to expand this knowledge to the chronic pain populations that were not discussed in the included papers.
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Postoperative pain management has increasingly become a public health problem worldwide. Psychological factors can be considered as independent risk factors for the intensity of postoperative pain and the occurrence of postoperative chronic pain. ⋯ These findings suggest that chronic restraint stress may influence postoperative hyperalgesia and NLRP3-mediated neuroinflammation, which may in turn contribute to stress-induced postoperative pain exacerbation.
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Several minimally invasive nonsurgical treatments have been widely applied for plantar fasciitis (PF). To date, controversy still exists regarding the effectiveness of these approaches for treating PF. ⋯ The MSN treatment should be recommended as the best therapy, followed by BTA in the gastrocnemius and BTA. CS and PRP are common medications that remain valuable in clinical practice. PEP can be performed after the injection of medication.