Scandinavian journal of pain
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Background It is unknown why an acute pain condition under various circumstances can transition into a chronic pain condition. There has been a shift towards neuroinflammation and hence glial cell activations specifically in the dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord as a mechanism possibly driving the transition to chronic pain. This has led to a focus on non-neuronal cells in the peripheral and central nervous system. ⋯ Implications Communication between glia and neurons is proposed to be a critical component of neuroinflammatory changes that may lead to chronic pain. Sensory ganglia neurons are surrounded by satellite glial cells but how communication between the cells contributes to altered pain sensitivity is still unknown. Better understanding may lead to new possibilities for (1) preventing development of chronic pain and (2) better pain management.
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Background and aims Chronic pain not only affects the person in pain, but can also have a negative impact on relationships with loved ones. Research shows that chronic pain is associated with difficulties in marital relationships, which in turn is related to a variety of negative outcomes such as psychological distress and conflict within the family. This suggests that couples where chronic physical pain is present also struggle with emotional pain and relationship problems, and thus targeting relationship skills and interpersonal functioning might be helpful for these couples. ⋯ Their spouses with chronic pain reported a decrease in negative affect from pre- to post-training. Conclusions Our results indicate that the partner or closest family member, after brief validation training, increased validating responses and decreased invalidating responses towards the person with pain, which had an immediate positive impact on emotions in the other person. Implications This study suggests that using validation in interpersonal interactions is a promising tool for couples where chronic pain is present.
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Background Trigeminal neuralgia is a neuropathic disorder characterized by episodes of intense pain in the face. Drug therapy is the first choice of treatment. However, in cases where drug therapy are contraindicated due to side effects, patients can get pain relief from lengthy neurosurgical procedures. ⋯ Implications Real-time ultrasound-guided infraorbital nerve block is one of the useful options to treat the acute paroxysmal period of TN at the infraorbital nerve area. Ultrasound-guided injections may become the standard practice for injecting peripheral trigeminal nerves. Using this high concentration of tetracaine as a neurolytic agent is effective and appears to have only minor side effects.