Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
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Comparative Study
Comparison of Nonimage- and Fluoroscopy-Guided Interlaminar Epidural Block: A Matched Paired Analysis in the Same Individuals.
Although fluoroscopic guidance is recommended highly for more accurate lumbar interlaminar epidural steroid injection (L-ESI), many physicians still use a nonimage-guided approach for L-ESIs. However, because of its associated risk of radiation and increased medical expense, the cost-effectiveness and safety of fluoroscopy-guided ESI have been called into question. The goal of this retrospective matched paired analysis in the same individuals was to assess the effectiveness and prevalence of complications of nonimage-guided L-ESI compared to those of fluoroscopy-guided L-ESI. Methods. Between 2015 and 2016, 94 patients who received both nonimage- and fluoroscopy-guided L-ESIs were analyzed retrospectively. The changes of the numeric rating scale (NRS) in pain intensity and functional outcome and the differences in the number of complications between blind and fluoroscopy-guided L-ESIs in the same individuals were evaluated by a matched paired analysis. ⋯ In this study, both blind and image-guided L-ESI techniques included similar extents of postprocedural outcomes and complications. Physicians should consider the risks associated with the two different techniques overall and develop ways to individualize the procedure to decrease the risk of complications and improve the positive outcomes of lumbar epidural steroid injections.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Comparison of Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Microcurrent Nerve Stimulation (MENS) in the Management of Masticatory Muscle Pain: A Comparative Study.
Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a heterogeneous group of pathologies affecting the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), the jaw muscles, or both. Epidemiological studies of TMD reveal a prevalence of 82% in the general population with 48% of them presenting with clinical features of muscle tenderness and difficulty in mouth opening. TMD are considered to be the most common orofacial pain conditions of nondental origin. ⋯ In the present study, it was found that TENS and MENS are equally effective in improving the functional mouth opening. MENS showed better and immediate effect in relief of pain. Microcurrent also has the advantage of being subthreshold, and hence the side effects such as tingling sensation and paresthesia seen to occur in some patients following TENS are absent. TENS and MENS can be considered as the first line of treatment in patients with acute and chronic masticatory muscle pain and also as an effective treatment option in cases of functional mouth opening.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Moxibustion on HIF-1α and VEGF Levels in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Moxibustion has a therapeutic effect of reducing swelling and relieving pain in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) but its mechanism is uncertain. ⋯ Moxibustion enhanced the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of conventional medicine and can enhance the effect of conventional medicine, downregulating HIF-1α/VEGF contents to inhibit angiogenesis.
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Tenderness of masseters and temporalis can be considered a relevant tool for diagnosis of myo-type craniofacial pain disorders, but a limit of pain score systems is that they are based on subjective pain perception. Surface electromyography (sEMG) is a noninvasive and reliable tool for recording muscle activity. Therefore, we investigated whether a correlation exists between tenderness on masseters and temporalis, assessed by subjective pain scale, and muscles activity, evaluated by sEMG, in patients with painful temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and concurrent tension-type headache (TTH). ⋯ Our study provides evidence that subjective pain perception can be objectively quantified at a magnitude proportional to pain severity. At greater tenderness scores, higher sEMG activity at the level of temporalis could help discriminate clinically prevalent TTH versus prevalent TMD. sEMG confirms to be an accurate tool to reliably objectify the subjective perception of pain. When combined with clinical evaluation and patients' symptoms, sEMG increases diagnostic sensitivity in the field of myo-type craniofacial pain disorders. This trial is registered with NCT02789085.
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This study aimed to investigate if the presence of Modic changes (MCs) was correlated with lower back pain (LBP) and LBP-related disability in patients who underwent nonsurgical treatment. ⋯ The existence of MCs affects the outcomes of nonsurgical treatment in patients with LBP. However, symptoms can be improved after an additional round of treatment for Modic type I changes, while this is not confirmed for Modic type II changes.