Articles: low-back-pain.
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Observational Study
A study on the paraspinal muscle surface electromyography in acute nonspecific lower back pain.
Aim of this study was to determine if surface electromyography (sEMG) could provide objective data in monitoring the alteration of signal amplitude of myoelectric activity of the paraspinal muscles in the patients with acute nonspecific lower back pain (ANLBP), and to explore the correlation between sEMG data and symptom relief in the ANLBP patients before and after massage therapy. Forty-five ANLBP patients and 20 healthy subjects were enrolled into this study. Patients were given massage therapy for 1 week. ⋯ In addition, AEMG alteration at maintained flexion position was significantly correlated with improvement of VAS or DFTF. Myoelectric activity of the paraspinal muscles in the ANLBP patients was different from that of healthy subjects. Massage therapy not only relived patients' symptoms, but also normalized myoelectric activity of the paraspinal muscles in the ANLBP patients.
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Previous studies have found widespread pain processing alterations in the brain in chronic low back pain (cLBP) patients. We aimed to (1) identify brain regions showing altered amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) using MRI and use these regions to discriminate cLBP patients from healthy controls (HCs) and (2) identify brain regions that are sensitive to cLBP pain intensity changes. ⋯ Brain low-frequency oscillations in the PCL, SMA, PoG, PrG, and ACC may be associated with the neuropathology of cLBP. Low-frequency oscillations in the insula, amygdala, hippocampal/parahippocampal gyrus, thalamus, and DMN are sensitive to manoeuvre-induced spontaneous back pain intensity changes.
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Observational Study
Relationship Between Opioid Analgesic Prescription and Unemployment in Patients Seeking Acupuncture for Chronic Pain in Urban Primary Care.
The widespread use of opioid analgesics to treat chronic nonmalignant pain has contributed to the ongoing epidemic of opioid-related morbidity and mortality. Previous studies have also demonstrated a relationship between opioid analgesic use and unemployment due to disability. These studies have been limited to mainly white European and North American populations. The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between opioid analgesic use for chronic nonmalignant pain in an urban, mainly black and Hispanic, low-income population. ⋯ This study adds to the growing body of evidence that opioid analgesics should be used with caution in chronic nonmalignant pain.
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To evaluate whether a relationship exists between patient-based scoring systems and the activity level of patients with low back pain (LBP) by using wearable activity trackers, and to determine whether activity level was affected by patient factors. ⋯ Some domains of the questionnaires were correlated with activity level, but others were not. Additionally, the activity level of patients with LBP was affected by sex, BMI, LBP, and skeletal muscle mass index. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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Low back pain (LBP) is a global public health challenge, which causes high healthcare costs and the highest burden on society in terms of years lived with disability. While patients' expectations for improvement may have effects on LBP treatment outcomes, it remains unclear if psychological profiles modify this relationship. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate if (a) patients' expectations predicted short-term outcome, and (b) psychological profile, pain intensity and self-rated health modified the relationship between expectations and outcome. ⋯ This study confirms the importance of patients' expectations in a clinical setting. Patients' expectations predict the short-term outcome of chiropractic care for LBP. Pain intensity, psychological profile and self-rated health did not modify this relationship.