Human Studies

Low back pain (LBP) is common in the general population and among postpartum women. Abdominal muscle exercise is often used to treat LBP, but it is unknown if fatiguing abdominal muscle exercise can produce exercise-induced hypoalgesia (EIH).

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can provide objective continuous intervertebral disc (IVD) measures in low back pain (LBP) patients. However, there are limited studies comparing quantitative IVD measures of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals.

Diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia have been subject to debate and controversy for many years. The preliminary diagnostic criteria introduced in 2010 and 2011 have been criticized for different reasons, including questionable diagnostic specificity and a lack of an etiopathogenetic foundation. The "ABC indicators" presented in this study reflect a further development of the 2011 criteria and refer to (A) algesia, (B) bilateral, axial-symmetric pain distribution, and (C) chronic distress.

Chronic low back pain has been observed to decrease movement coordination. However, it is unclear whether the existing alteration of inter-hemispheric synchrony of intrinsic activity in patients with chronic low back-related leg pain (cLBLP). The present study aims to investigate the alteration of homotopic connectivity and its clinical association with the cLBLP patients.

Accumulating evidence from neuroimaging studies has supported that chronic pain could induce changes in brain function. However, few studies have focused on the dynamic regional homogeneity (dReHo) of trigeminal neuralgia (TN). In this study, twenty-eight TN patients and 28 healthy controls (HC) were included. Based on the resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI), we detected abnormalities in dReHo in the TN patients. Patients with TN had decreased dReHo in the left middle temporal gyrus, superior parietal lobule, and precentral gyrus, and increased dReHo in the thalamus. Furthermore, the increase in dReHo in the thalamus was positively correlated with duration of TN ( = 0.485, = 0.012). These results provide compelling evidence for abnormal resting-state brain activity in TN and suggest that the duration of TN may play a critical role in brain function.

Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) is a multifactorial disorder comprising structural and functional muscular abnormalities, a dysfunctional pain system, and psychological distress. Myofascial physical Therapy (MPT) that is targeted at improving pelvic muscle functioning is considered a first line nonpharmacological treatment for CPPS, although the precise mechanisms that lead to symptoms alleviation have not yet been elucidated.