Articles: pain-clinics.
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Eur J Phys Rehabil Med · Dec 2015
ReviewBalneotherapy (or spa therapy) for rheumatoid arthritis. An abridged version of Cochrane Systematic Review.
Treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) include pharmacological interventions, physical therapy treatments and balneotherapy. ⋯ We were not able to assess any clinical relevant impact of balneotherapy over placebo, no treatment or other treatments.
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Innamorati and colleagues (Innamorati et al., J Headache Pain 16:2, 2015) validated the "stagnation scale" and proposed to use it to screen for psychopathology. I have some critical comments to consider about the theoretical and clinical value of the instrument. ⋯ The scale can thus not identify patients who repress emotions. Third, the routine use of this instrument will detract clinicians from what really is at stake in patients and what may help them.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Anaesthetic injection versus ischemic compression for the pain relief of abdominal wall trigger points in women with chronic pelvic pain.
Chronic pelvic pain is a common condition among women, and 10 to 30 % of causes originate from the abdominal wall, and are associated with trigger points. Although little is known about their pathophysiology, variable methods have been practiced clinically. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of local anaesthetic injections versus ischemic compression via physical therapy for pain relief of abdominal wall trigger points in women with chronic pelvic pain. ⋯ Lidocaine injection seems to be better for reducing the severity of chronic pelvic pain secondary to abdominal wall trigger points compared to ischemic compression via physical therapy.
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Pain clinics provide interdisciplinary therapy to treat chronic pain patients and to increase the return-to-work rate. In recent years and due to increased economic pressure in health care, a change in the management of pain in Austrian health care centers has been observed. For the analysis of the current situation, two surveys addressing all Austrian pain clinics were performed. ⋯ Our survey confirmed the closure of 9 pain clinics during the last 5 years due to lack of personnel and time. Pain clinics appear to provide the simplest economic saving potential. This development is a major concern. Although running a pain clinic seems to be expensive at the first sight, it reduces pain, sick leave, complications, and potential legal issues against health care centers, while simultaneously increasing the hospital's competitiveness. Our results show that 74% of Austrian chronic pain patients do not have access to an interdisciplinary pain clinic. Because of plans to further economize resources, Austria may lose its ability to provide state-of-the-art pain therapy and management.