Articles: chronic-pain.
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Despite all of the progress that has been made in diagnostic procedures and the increasing number of treatment facilities available the number of people suffering from chronic pain conditions seems to be growing constantly in all industrialized countries, a fact which is demonstrated impressively by the epidemiology of low back pain. "Chronic" means "life-determining"-chronic pain, as all chronic illnesses represent a turning point in the life situation of the people concerned. They not only affect the patients, but also the members of their immediate social environment. Chronic pain becomes a destructive stigma when society reduces the afflicted persons to the status of the chronically ill. ⋯ The introduction of the concept of the "healthy pain patient" has the goal of raising the competence of the individual and his/her social environment to improve the quality of life in spite of chronic pain. The educational aim is to enable patients with pain to be autonomous and to maximize their potential health. The therapeutic approach is demonstrated by individual case histories.
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In this study carried out in a sample of 80 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) tried an attempt was made to answer the following questions: 1. are there pain factors with a wider range that are more generally applicable than those covered by current German questionnaires? 2. To what extent can somatic parameters predict pain factors? 3. To what extent can a patient's pain behavior (a patient's activity scores) predict pain factors? The study was based on data collected by means of the Pain Experience Questionnaire (PEQ), the McGill Pain Questionnaire MPQ, the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory WHYMPI, the Measurement Of Patient Outcome Scale MOPO, as well as six different clinical parameters. ⋯ At a statistically significant level, the first factor can be predicted by the clinical variables. Regression of the activity scores on the factor "socio-emotional consequences" suggests a close correlation between the two variables, although the results failed to reach statistical significance. On the whole, the results strongly support the notion of integrating clinical, behavioral and cognitive findings in the diagnostic assessment of chronic rheumatoid pain patients.
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The problem of nociception and pain development in radicular pain syndromes is not clarified. In the pathophysiology of pain of radicular compression caused by stenosis or disc prolapse, morphological complex nerve root/ganglion is the key structure. Chronic compression forces on the nerve structure cause structural changes. ⋯ The membrane threshold shift in nociceptive fibers is an important prerequisite for pain perception in nerve root compression. New biochemical aspects in the pathophysiology of radicular syndromes are presented, which could explain the discrepancy between pain and objective clinical findings. The article concludes that a better understanding of the nerve root pathophysiology will bring a more differentiated pain-management strategy.
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Following head trauma many different forms of headache can develop. Complaints in the early post-traumatic period appear to be organic in most cases. Later in the course post-traumatic headache frequently shows a psychogenic picture. Describing the causative factors and discussing the therapeutic guidelines, the authors explain how psychological influences can form chronic pain syndromes.
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The therapy of pain caused by rheumatic diseases above all must take into consideration the cause of the pain. In rheumatoid arthritis, especially in the early stages, inflammation is the primary cause of the pain. The pain decreases the inflammation subsides following the administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), or corticosteroids, if necessary. ⋯ In most cases fibromyalgia, which is mostly of a psychosomatic nature, cannot be influenced by medical therapy. Instead repeated attempts at treatment help to make the affliction chronic with neurotic fixation. Also, as a rule, myotonolytic and tranquilizing substances are not effective.