Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
-
The incidence of osteoporosis and diabetes mellitus (DM) is known to increase with aging. DM is associated with osteoporotic fractures and decreased bone mineral metabolism. However, no studies have compared the effects of DM on the changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporotic fracture after epidural steroid injections (ESIs). ⋯ There were no significant differences between baseline and posttreatment BMD in the lumbar spine, total femur, and femoral neck region in either group. The incidence of osteoporotic fractures at the hip joint and thoracolumbar spine was not significantly different in both groups. ESIs could be used without concerns regarding osteoporosis and fractures in elderly women with DM if low doses of glucocorticoids are used.
-
Considering the high prevalence of abdominal pain in children and adolescents in Iran, it is essential to use appropriate screening tools. One of the most comprehensive, yet concise, tools for this purpose is the Abdominal Pain Index (API). This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the self-report API in adolescents. ⋯ Also, the researchers' hypothesis, i.e., API is a single-factor model (with five items), was approved. The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was satisfactory for the total scale (α < 0.7). This study showed that API could be used with considerable confidence for Iranian children and adolescents with chronic pain.
-
Telephysiotherapy (TPT) is a provision of physiotherapy services at a distance, using telecommunication technology when an in-person visit is not a feasible option. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of TPT in management of pain caused due to various problems among patients living in rural areas of a developing country. ⋯ The telephone-based TPT interventions demonstrated significant reduction in pain caused by various musculoskeletal problems. It could be a feasible and effective treatment option for the patients living in rural areas. However, we recommend for large-scale trials to establish effectiveness of the intervention and for its implication into routine clinical practice.
-
Better understanding of the episodic cancer pain (CP) spectrum, including pains that occur in addition to its conventionally defined breakthrough CP (BTcP) and incident CP (IcP) components, may inform CP assessment and management. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of episodic patient-reported CP and the prevalence and associations of study-defined BTcP (S-BTcP) and IcP (S-IcP) in patients with CP. ⋯ Episodic or transient patient-reported CP flares often do not meet the more conventional criteria that define BTcP and IcP, the principal episodic CP types. Both BTcP and IcP occur frequently and both are associated with a NPC, higher pain intensity, and less opioid underuse in the management of CP. Further studies are warranted to both better understand the complex presentations of episodic CP and inform its classification.
-
Epiduroscopy, or spinal endoscopy, is the visualisation of the epidural space using a percutaneous and minimally invasive imaging fiberoptic device. Recently, as a result of some studies, it has been reported that laser therapy with epiduroscopic laser neural discectomy (ELND) was applied during multiple lesions. ⋯ As a result, ELND with Holmium: YAG laser, which is a new technique in patients with lumbar disc herniated low back and/or leg pain, can reduce VAS and ODI scores from 2 weeks without any complications that open surgery can bring with it. We believe that it is a useful and advanced technique in treatment of lumbar disc herniation and has low complication rates that provides maximum efficacy from the first year.