The Clinical journal of pain
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Complex regional pain syndrome remains a challenging condition characterized by severe, persistent pain and a variety of inflammatory and trophic symptoms. This study aimed to analyze the current literature to evaluate hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)'s efficacy in treating complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), focusing on both sympathetically-maintained pain (SMP) and sympathetically-independent pain (SIP) subtypes. ⋯ This review of the current literature suggests that HBOT may offer significant symptom relief, regardless of CRPS subtype or disease duration. HBOT's anti-inflammatory and neuroplasticity promoting properties make it a valuable non-invasive option for CRPS patients, potentially improving outcomes when combined with other therapeutic modalities. Further research is necessary to refine patient selection and optimize treatment protocols.
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After cesarean, optimal analgesia is important for early mobilization, mitigating thromboembolic risks, and mother-infant communication. Our study aims to compare the postoperative analgesic effects of intrathecal morphine (ITM) and Erector Spinae Plane Block (ESPB) in elective cesarean section under spinal anesthesia. ⋯ Patients undergoing cesarean section under spinal anesthesia, intrathecal morphine reduced opioid consumption more effectively than ESPB. ESPB is not recommended as a primary analgesic option for cesarean sections.
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Historically in medicine and beyond, the understanding of and treatment of pain is based on finding tissue injury. The fact that for chronic pain, there often is no (longer) any traceable tissue injury, in combination with the fact that pain essentially is a private experience, poses a challenge for clinical communication. This paper therefore examines how pain is linguistically and interactionally constructed as invisible. ⋯ The discussion explores how on these three levels, notions of the abnormal or deviant body come into play, in which patients and health professionals complexly construct pain both as not normal (i.e. not a neutral or desirable state of being), while, at the same time, the lack of traceable tissue injury is constructed as medically normal for chronic pain. This also shows how patients and healthcare providers often orient to the stigma around chronic pain.
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Posterior cervical spine surgery can result in significant discomfort in the post-operative period. Post-operative pain management presents a challenge, particularly in the elderly population which is more sensitive to adverse effects from analgesia. We aimed to compare outcomes after peri-operative posterior cervical muscle plane blocks versus patients who received general anesthesia only. ⋯ These meta-analyses suggest that peri-operative posterior cervical muscle plane blocks are safe and result in improved post-operative analgesic efficacy when compared to controls. More robust prospective, randomized studies are necessary to help inform the safety and efficacy of peri-operative posterior cervical blocks for elective posterior cervical spine surgery.
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Chronic pain (CP) significantly impacts emotional and physical well-being and overall quality of life across diverse populations in the United States (U.S.). Notably, underrepresented minoritized (URM) groups, such as Hispanic/Latinx youth, may experience disproportionate effects due to health disparities and lack of access to quality healthcare. However, this remains understudied. This study aims to examine the association between CP and its related psychosocial factors- depressive and anxiety symptoms, and pain catastrophizing- in Hispanic/Latinx youth, as compared to Non-Hispanic White (NHW) youth. ⋯ Our results suggested that for NHW youth with CP, greater tendencies toward catastrophizing and experiences of anxiety may more strongly contribute to depressive symptoms, when compared to their Hispanic/Latinx youth counterparts. Further investigation of pain-coping mechanisms among Hispanic/Latinx youth and other youth from historically marginalized populations (e.g., racial/ethnic minoritized groups) will help advance clinical understanding of sociocultural variability in links between pain-related psychosocial outcomes in the CP experience.