Pain physician
-
Epidural injections have been used since 1901 in managing low back pain and sciatica. Spinal pain, disability, health, and economic impact continue to increase, despite numerous modalities of interventions available in managing chronic spinal pain. Thus far, systematic reviews performed to assess the efficacy of epidural injections in managing chronic spinal pain have yielded conflicting results. ⋯ This systematic review, with an assessment of the quality of manuscripts and outcome parameters, shows the efficacy of epidural injections in managing a multitude of chronic spinal conditions.
-
Meta Analysis
High Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Therapy For Chronic Neuropathic Pain: A Meta-analysis.
Increasing evidence supports an analgesic effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for neuropathic pain (NP). However, the optimal parameters of rTMS (stimulation frequency and treatment sessions) for achieving long-term analgesic effects remain unknown. This study analyzed the current findings in the literature. ⋯ HF-rTMS stimulation on primary motor cortex is effective in relieving pain in NP patients. Although 5 sessions of rTMS treatment produced a maximal analgesic effect and may be maintained for at least one month, further large-scale and well-controlled trials are needed to determine if this enhanced effect is specific to certain types of NP such as post-stroke related central NP.
-
Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) is widely used for the treatment of painful vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). However, new VCFs occur frequently after PVP. ⋯ Patients who underwent their first PVP with an ANVCFV score > 8.5 points may exhibit an increased chance of suffering from new VCFs.
-
Chronic pain is very common worldwide and can lead to disability, depression and absence from work. Catastrophizing has been proven to affect individuals' belief systems and coping strategies, and it is an essential risk factor for chronic pain. The pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) has been developed for the assessment of catastrophizing. However, a Chinese version of this scale is not available, and physicians are therefore unable to determine which patients are prone to catastrophizing. Additionally, the risk factors for catastrophizing are unknown. ⋯ The PCS has been linguistically translated into simplified Chinese and culturally adapted for a Chinese population with remarkable clinical acceptance, good construct validity, and excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Education, pain duration, marital status, gender, income, and use of pain medications are important factors affecting catastrophizing.
-
The close anatomic and functional relationship between the proximal parts of the adductor longus and pectineus muscles produce considerable overlap in symptoms and signs in the inguinal region. To our knowledge, there have been no publications of ultrasound (US)-guided injection techniques into the 2 muscles. ⋯ The results of this study may play a role in the diagnosis and management of patients presenting with chronic pelvic pain syndrome and sports hernia.