Articles: back-pain.
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Review Meta Analysis
Early changes in somatosensory function in spinal pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Alterations in sensory processing have been demonstrated in chronic low back and neck pain. However, it has not been yet systematically summarized how early these changes occur in spinal pain. This systematic review examines the available literature measuring somatosensory function in acute (<6 weeks) and subacute (6-12 weeks) spinal pain. ⋯ Sources of bias included lack of assessor blinding, unclear sampling methods, and lack of control for confounders. We found that: (1) there is consistent evidence for thermal and widespread mechanical pain hypersensitivity in the acute stage of whiplash, (2) there is no evidence for pain hypersensitivity in the acute and subacute stage of idiopathic neck pain, although the body of evidence is small, and (3) hyperalgesia and spinal cord hyperexcitability have been detected in early stages of nonspecific low back pain, although evidence about widespread effects are conflicting. Future longitudinal research using multiple sensory modalities and standardized testing may reveal the involvement of somatosensory changes in the development and maintenance of chronic pain.
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Pain is a common and highly debilitating complication for cancer patients significantly compromising their quality of life. Cancer-induced bone pain involves a complex interplay of multiple mechanisms including both inflammatory and neuropathic processes and also some unique changes. Strong opioids are a mainstay of treatments but side effects are problematic and can compromise optimal pain control. Tapentadol is a novel dual-action drug, both stimulating inhibitory μ-opioid receptors (MOR) and mediating noradrenaline reuptake inhibition (NRI) leading to activation of the inhibitory α-2 adrenoceptor. It has been demonstrated to treat effectively both acute and chronic pain. We here demonstrate the efficacy in a model of cancer-induced bone pain. ⋯ These findings add to the mechanistic understanding of cancer-induced bone pain and support the sparse clinical data indicating a possible use of the drug as a therapeutic alternative for cancer patients with metastatic pain complication.
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Effective reassurance of patients reporting symptoms, for which no clear etiological origin is available, is one of the most important challenges in the early phases of nonspecific back pain. However, there is a lack of empirical studies on the effects of reassurance and, also, the effects shown were small. Improvements are needed with respect to the process of physician-patient interaction and to the methods used by the physician. ⋯ Reassurance of patients in early phases of persistent back pain might improve from affective and cognitive parts of communication and individually tailored information. Subgroup differences with respect to different prognosis, associated patterns of adaptive or maladaptive pain coping, and levels of health-promoting versus harmful physical activity should be considered more carefully.
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Observational Study
Influence of pain sensitivity on surgical outcomes after lumbar spine surgery in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.
Prospective observational study. ⋯ 2.