European journal of pain : EJP
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This journal recently published a paper by Suso-Marti et al., entitled "Effectiveness of motor imagery and action observation training on musculoskeletal pain intensity: A systematic review and meta-analysis" (2020). Motor imagery training and action observation training are rehabilitation approaches that involve imagining oneself executing a particular action, and watching actions that are performed by others, respectively. Both are thought to activate similar neural substrates that are responsible for the actual execution of an action (Eaves et al., 2016). Motor imagery and action observation have been used to enhance motor skill performance in several groups - including athletes and musicians who require highly accurate and precise movement for professional performances, and a similar approach has been employed during rehabilitation with variable outcomes in people after stroke, spinal cord injury and persistent pain.
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Specific components of physical activity, such as vigorous exercise and heavy occupational work, are known to increase the risk of chronic low back pain (CLBP) and chronic knee pain (CKP), but impacts of other components are less known. This study aimed to assess the relationship between total physical activity and risk of CLBP and CKP from a public health perspective. ⋯ Evidence on the longitudinal association between total physical activity and CLBP and CKP in middle-aged and elderly people is lacking. We conducted a cohort study to assess this association, and found that high levels of total physical activity increased risk of CKP, and intermediate levels of leisure-time physical activity decreased risk of CLBP. This suggests that the effect of physical activity on chronic pain differed by pain site.
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This study investigated (a) if a prolonged noxious stimulus (24-hr topical capsaicin) in healthy adults would impair central pain inhibitory and facilitatory systems measured as a reduction in conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and enhancement of temporal summation of pain (TSP) and (b) if acute pain relief or exacerbation (cooling and heating the capsaicin patch) during the prolonged noxious stimulus would affect central pain modulation. ⋯ During the early hours of a prolonged noxious stimulus in healthy adults, CPM efficacy was reduced and did not recover by temporarily removing the ongoing pain indicating a less dynamic neuroplastic process.
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Chronic pain is a common issue in adolescents. Prevalence of pain and associated factors present differently in sex and age subgroups; however, the interaction of sex and age combined has not been thoroughly assessed. This study aimed to identify psychosocial and health factors associated with chronic pain in younger and older adolescent girls and boys. ⋯ We report evidence that negative psychosocial and health factors are related to a higher prevalence of chronic pain in adolescents. Furthermore, the relationships between anxiety, socioeconomic status, lower school satisfaction and lower school performance with pain may vary between adolescents of differing sexes and ages. Understanding how possible risk factors for chronic pain contribute differently to the pain experience of adolescent girls and boys is an important step towards lowering the prevalence of this common health condition.
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This updated systematic review evaluated the efficacy and safety of opioids compared with placebo for chronic osteoarthritis pain. ⋯ Within the context of randomized controlled trials (4-24 weeks), opioids provided no clinically relevant pain relief and no clinically relevant reduction in disability compared with placebo in chronic osteoarthritis pain (hip, knee). Number needed to treat for an additional dropout due to side effects was 5 (95% confidence interval 4-7). Two studies found no signals of abuse and addiction. The frequency of serious adverse events including deaths did not differ from placebo.