Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRG-S) is used as a treatment for chronic low-back pain (CLBP), although its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. CLBP patients have been found to have reduced mechanoreceptive perception, reduced endogenous analgesia, as well as deep-tissue hyperalgesia when compared with healthy controls. Using quantitative sensory testing (QST), we studied if DRG-S in CLBP patients results in changes in pain processing. ⋯ Our results suggest that DRG-S in CLBP patients reduces deep-tissue hyperalgesia in the low back, while improving mechanoreceptive perception. These changes in both neuropathic and nociceptive components of CLBP were accompanied by clinical improvements in pain and function.
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Evaluate the Pain Impact Index, a simple, brief, easy-to-use, and novel tool to assess the impact of chronic pain in community-dwelling older adults. ⋯ The Pain Impact Index showed evidence of unidimensionality, was able to successfully differentiate between levels of pain impact, and had good evidence of construct validity.
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Case Reports
Air-to-Air Meeting Technique in Radiofrequency Thermocoagulation of Trigeminal Neuralgia: A Case Report.
In a minority of cases, foramen ovales (FOs) are difficult to access due to single confounding anatomical variations. However, there is no method reported where the FO has been successfully targeted via a single puncture in the presence of two or more anatomical variations. ⋯ To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report describing a unique facial entry point determined by this technique for the treatment of a patient with trigeminal neuralgia.