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Psychologically Informed Physical Therapy (PIPT) aims to identify individuals at high risk for transitioning to chronicity and merge impairment-focused physical therapy with cognitive behavioral therapy principles. Treatment monitoring is an important part of PIPT and involves identifying changes in clinical measures to inform clinical decision making.
Learn More >Current definitions of pain do not necessitate tissue damage. This is important because it does justice to the pain patient in whom a nociceptive source is not detectable. However, in conjunction with exciting findings regarding supraspinal pain modulation and a (perceived) failure of identifying nociceptive sources in individual patients, this might have led to a devaluation of the role of nociception for chronic pain. In this review, the relative importance of nociception versus psychological factors for chronic pain is examined by scrutinizing the example of pain present several months following surgical joint replacement for severe osteoarthritis.
Learn More >Few investigators have developed and tested nonpharmacological interventions for helping persons with sickle cell disease (SCD) manage persistent pain.
Learn More >Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic orofacial pain disorder of unknown cause. It is more common in peri- and postmenopausal women, and sex hormone dysregulation is believed to be an important causative factor. Psychosocial events often trigger or exacerbate symptoms, and persons with BMS appear to be predisposed toward anxiety and depression. Atrophy of small nerve fibers in the tongue epithelium has been reported, and potential neuropathic mechanisms for BMS are now widely investigated. Historically, BMS was thought to comprise endocrinological, psychosocial, and neuropathic components. Neuroprotective steroids and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family ligands may have pivotal roles in the peripheral mechanisms associated with atrophy of small nerve fibers. Denervation of chorda tympani nerve fibers that innervate fungiform buds leads to alternative trigeminal innervation, which results in dysgeusia and burning pain when eating hot foods. With regard to the central mechanism of BMS, depletion of neuroprotective steroids alters the brain network related mood and pain modulation. Peripheral mechanistic studies support the use of topical clonazepam and capsaicin for the management of BMS, and some evidence supports the use of cognitive behavioral therapy. Hormone replacement therapy may address the causes of BMS, although adverse effects prevent its use as a first-line treatment. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) may have important benefits, and well-designed controlled studies are expected. Other treatment options to be investigated include brain stimulation and TSPO (translocator protein 18 KDa) ligands. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Learn More >To understand the process of change at an individual level, this study used a single-case experimental design to evaluate how change in potential mediators related to change in disability over time, during an exposure-based behavioural intervention in four people with chronic low back pain and high pain-related fear. A second aim was to evaluate whether the change (sequential or simultaneous) in mediators and disability occurred at the same timepoint for all individuals.
Learn More >Approximately 10% of pediatric patients have recurrent headaches, with migraine being the most common headache type. If untreated, migraine may progress to status migrainosus, a debilitating condition of prolonged duration, high pain severity, and significant disability. There is high variability in the treatment of status migrainosus including medications used and treatment setting, which may occur in the emergency room, as an inpatient admission, or, less often, in an outpatient infusion center. The paucity of research on the treatment of status migrainosus is a limitation to treatment effectiveness.
Learn More >To conduct a systematic review on pain self-efficacy measures in children and adolescents. The review aims: (a) to summarize all self-report measures of pain self-efficacy that have been used with children and adolescents; (b) to rate the quality of these measures; (c) to summarize associations between pain self-efficacy and other constructs.
Learn More >Telephone cognitive behavioural therapy (tCBT) is an acceptable and effective treatment for patients with chronic widespread pain (CWP). Preventing the onset of CWP offers considerable benefits to the individual and society and the MAmMOTH study is the first aimed at CWP prevention. The study is a two-arm randomised trial testing a course of tCBT against usual care for prevention of CWP. This nested qualitative study explores patients' treatment experiences, with a view to understanding their potential influences on acceptability of the intervention.
Learn More >Multimorbidity refers to the presence of two or more chronic health conditions within one person, where no one condition is primary. Research suggests that multimorbidity is highly correlated with chronic pain, which is pain lasting longer than 3 months. Psychotherapeutic interventions for people living with chronic illness have resulted in reduced symptom reporting and improved psychological well-being. There is a dearth of research, however, using online psychotherapy for people living with multimorbidity where chronic pain is a central condition. This study will compare the effectiveness of an online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention with a waiting list control condition in terms of improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and reducing levels of pain interference in people with chronic pain and at least one other condition.
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