Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Review Meta Analysis
Pressure pain thresholds in office workers with chronic neck pain. A systematic review and meta-analysis.
The purpose of this study was to (a) compare pressure pain threshold (PPT) values between office workers with chronic neck pain and asymptomatic controls; (b) establish reference PPT values in chronic neck pain; and (c) evaluate associations between PPTs and pain intensity, and disability. ⋯ This meta-analysis found that all the PPT measurements were not significantly reduced in office workers with chronic neck pain compared with healthy workers. These assumptions were based on a small sample of existing studies, and therefore further studies are necessary to quantify the differences in PPTs. Hypersensitivity PPT reference values are proposed for localized and extrasegmental sites in office workers with chronic neck pain.
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In interventional pain medicine, cervical facet joint (CFJ) pain is commonly treated with CFJ denervation techniques, almost automatically assuming degeneration of the CFJs as an important cause of CFJ pain. A standard cervical X-ray is still commonly used in the clinical evaluation of patients suspected for CFJ degeneration. Although degenerative features can be visualized by different radiological imaging techniques, the relation between radiological degenerative features of the cervical spine and pain remains controversial. Paramount in order to estimate the clinical usefulness of a radiological imaging is to establish the reproducibility of the radiological scoring system. A reproducible and clinically feasible diagnostic scoring system was developed to estimate cervical degeneration on standard cervical X-rays. ⋯ Subjective judgment of a cervical standard X-ray is a reproducible method to demonstrate degenerative abnormalities of the cervical spine.
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Observational Study
Multisystem Spinal Cord Stimulation Trialing: A Single Center, Retrospective, Observational Study.
Spinal cord stimulation is a well-established modality for the treatment of chronic intractable pain. The safety and efficacy of various stimulation therapy designs have been demonstrated in multiple randomized controlled studies, oftentimes comparing an investigational device to an existing commercial therapy. In the real-world setting, data are lacking regarding selection of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy, as waveform, pulse trains, and programming are not interchangeable among the devices. The purpose of this study is to help dissect a methodology for a patient centric multisystem trialing. ⋯ Multisystem trialing is safe and effective in providing patients increased exposure to multiple commercially available SCS systems.