Scandinavian journal of pain
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Background and purpose Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is widely used for the treatment of chronic pain, although its mechanism of action is not known. The evidence of efficacy of PRF for neuropathic pain (NP) conditions is limited. A double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled parallel study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PRF in the treatment of peripheral posttraumatic NP. ⋯ Conclusions PRF was well tolerated, but this study failed to show efficacy of PRF over sham treatment for peripheral posttraumatic NP. Implications Based on our results, we do not recommend PRF for peripheral posttraumatic NP. More research of the possible use of PRF for various pain conditions is needed to determine its role in the management of prolonged pains.
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Background and purpose In animal studies, enhanced sensitivity to painful stimuli succeeding chronic stress has been reported, while acute stress is reported to induce analgesia. Human studies on the effect of mental stress on pain are more equivocal. A disturbed stress-response resulting in an increased sensitivity to painful stimuli has also been discussed as a potential mechanism for e.g., the fibromyalgia syndrome. ⋯ Implications Our results suggest that previously reported reduced inhibitory CPM in several medically unexplained syndromes with musculoskeletal pain aggravated by mental stress possibly can be related to confounding or clinically relevant stress level differences. However, the result might be modality-specific. Further studies in patients are obviously needed, and the impact of mental stress on CPM should be investigated also with other stressors.