The Clinical journal of pain
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Comparative Study
A comparison of physician and nonphysician acupuncture treatment for chronic low back pain.
Although up to a third of the 10,000 acupuncturists in the United States are medical doctors, little is known about the acupuncture techniques they use or how their practices compare with those of nonphysician licensed acupuncturists. This is the first study providing descriptive data on physician acupuncture and comparison to nonphysician acupuncture. ⋯ This study provides new information about the nature of physician acupuncture practice in the United States and how it compares to acupuncture provided by nonphysician licensed acupuncturists. Further research is necessary to determine if the different types of acupuncture provided by physicians and nonphysician acupuncturists affect treatment outcomes and costs for patients with chronic low back pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Documented and self-reported child abuse and adult pain in a community sample.
To examine the association of chronic pain in young adults with childhood exposure to maltreatment and to determine whether depressive symptoms mediate such an association. ⋯ Overall, results show an association between self-reported sexual abuse history and adult pain complaints in this general population sample, which was not attributable to symptoms of depression at the time of such reports.
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Clinical experiences as well as specific investigations show that pain and sleep disturbances are closely correlated. The aims of this review are first to describe sleep disturbances related to painful medical diseases and analgesics and secondly to propose management possibilities for these sleep disturbances. ⋯ If many factors, including pain, disease process per se, as well as medication, could disturb sleep, sleep disturbances may also adversely affect the natural course of the painful disease. Improving sleep quantity and quality in patients with painful disorders may break this vicious circle and as consequence enhance the patients' overall health and quality of life.
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Clinical Trial
The roles of pain catastrophizing and anxiety in the prediction of postoperative pain intensity: a prospective study.
This study was a prospective investigation of the extent to which psychologic variables could be predictive of postoperative pain. Study aims were: 1) to evaluate whether an assessment of pre-operative distress factors could predict the intensity of postoperative pain; and 2) to characterize the unique pattern in which anxiety and pain catastrophizing scores relate to postoperative pain. ⋯ The results are discussed in light of appraisal and coping theories. It is suggested that a simple assessment of preoperative catastrophizing tendency and anxiety scores may assist medical teams in postoperative pain management.
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There has been a longstanding recognition that adult patients with chronic pain are not a homogenous population and that there are subgroups of patients who report high levels of distress and interpersonal difficulties as well as subgroups of patients who report little distress and high functioning. The purpose of the present study was to attempt to identify similar subgroups in a pediatric chronic pain population. ⋯ The similarity of these subgroups to the adult chronic pain population subgroups as well as implications for future studies are discussed.