Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an interventional procedure that has been used to treat chronic back pain for over 50 years; this unique case report demonstrates the effectiveness of pulsed radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) on the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) in the treatment of chronic radicular pain (Russo et al., 2021, J Pain Res, 14, 3897). The RFA provides pain relief by using thermal energy to disrupt peripheral nerves carrying nociceptive signals back to the central nervous system (Abd-Elsayed et al. 2020, Pain Ther, 9, 709). However, there is a lack of literature about the safety and efficacy of PRFA of the DRG.
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Placebo effects can relieve acute and chronic pain in both research and clinical treatments by learning mechanisms. However, the application of placebo-based treatment strategies in routine medical care is questioned. The current study investigated the opinions of patients with fibromyalgia and healthy controls regarding learning of placebo effects and their practical applications. ⋯ This survey suggests that both the medical history of patients and knowledge about placebo effects affect the acceptability and perceived effectiveness of placebo-based strategies. Furthermore, strategies that are transparent, assumed effective, or combined with existing medical treatments are deemed most acceptable. Keeping these factors in mind is essential for the clinical implementation of placebo-based strategies in routine medical care.
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In this study, the spread of methylene blue was compared between an ultrasound-guided Pericapsular Nerve Group (PENG) block and a double injection technique, where the approach towards the inferomedial acetabulum was added to the latter. ⋯ Our study demonstrates adequate staining of the iliac bone with comparable distal and medial spread in both techniques, indicating that the PENG block with a single injection is adequate in blocking the hip capsule with 10 mL local anesthetics. Staining of the femoral nerve occurred in 2/6 specimens after the PENG block, and staining of the obturator nerve in 1 specimen in each group.