The Clinical journal of pain
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Physicians and patients alike find it easy to divide pain into mental pain and physical pain. But close examination of this distinction shows that it fails on clinical and philosophical grounds. The body is not a passive conduit for information about tissue damage. ⋯ The dualism of mental and physical pain cannot be overcome if the biological individual is considered in isolation. Mental and physical pain can only be reconciled if their common interpersonal roots are understood. This interpersonal view of pain can help clarify some clinical and moral dilemmas in the care of patients with pain.
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Multicenter Study
Surgical patients' fear of addiction to pain medication: the effect of an educational program for clinicians.
The appropriate and optimal use of analgesics is essential for the adequate management of postoperative pain. Concern that use of opioid analgesics contributes to the development of addiction is a barrier to effective pain relief. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of fear of addiction in postoperative patients in relation to surgical outcomes and staff participation in an educational program. ⋯ Fear of addiction is not prevalent among postoperative patients, yet clinician education can further decrease the proportion of surgical patients who fear of addiction to pain medication.
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To evaluate the cardiorespiratory endurance (CRE) and physical activity level of patients with chronic pain compared with healthy subjects. ⋯ Data on CRE and the physical activity level of patients with chronic pain obtained in this study show that chronic pain may have a greater impact on male than female patients. Sociocultural factors are probably at the origin of this phenomenon.
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The study examined symptom-specific muscle hyperreactivity in patients with chronic pain with upper limb cumulative trauma disorder (CTD). ⋯ The results indicate that symptom-specific psychophysiological responses may be limited to certain subgroups rather than being characteristic of chronic musculoskeletal pain patients in general.
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This study was designed to investigate whether Complex Regional Pain Syndrome type I (CRPS I) could be linked to any previous infection. ⋯ In this study we found a significantly higher seroprevalence of Parvovirus B19 in CRPS I and this is most striking in lower extremity CRPS I patients. Further serologic research in other geographic areas is needed to provide additional information about a potential role of Parvovirus B 19 or other microorganisms in the etiopathogenesis of CRPS I.