European journal of pain : EJP
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Review Meta Analysis
Systemic inflammatory markers in neck pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Mechanisms underpinning symptoms in non-traumatic neck pain (NTNP) and whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) are not comprehensively understood. There is emerging evidence of systemic inflammation in musculoskeletal pain conditions, including neck and back pain. The aim of this systematic review was to determine if raised blood inflammatory markers are associated with neck pain. ⋯ This systematic review advances our understanding of neck pain pathophysiology by demonstrating the presence of systemic inflammation in chronic neck pain, in the form of raised IL-1β and TNFα. Further, numerous inflammatory markers were associated with clinical variables, including pain intensity, disability and hyperalgesia. These findings imply that systemic inflammation may contribute to mechanisms underlying neck pain.
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Review Meta Analysis
The response-time relationship and covariate effects of acupuncture for chronic pain: a systematic review and model-based longitudinal meta-analysis.
Critical clinical questions regarding how soon and how long the analgesic effect will be achieved by acupuncture, as well as who will be responsive to acupuncture, need further address. The aim of the study was to investigate the response-time relationship and covariate effects of acupuncture. ⋯ Our systematic review and meta-analysis provides the clear evidence for the treatment duration and significant related covariates of acupuncture intervention for chronic pain. These results provide useful suggestion for acupuncture intervention in clinical pain management.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effects of neurofeedback in the management of chronic pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.
Neurofeedback (NFB) provides real-time feedback about neurophysiological signals to patients, thereby encouraging modulation of pain-associated brain activity. This review aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of NFB in alleviating pain and pain-associated symptoms in chronic pain patients. ⋯ Neurofeedback is a novel neuromodulatory approach which can be used to reduce the severity of pain and pain-associated symptoms such as sleep disturbances, mood disturbances, fatigue and anxiety in a number of chronic pain conditions. It has a potential to provide integrative non-pharmacological management for chronic pain patients with pain refractory to pharmacological agents with high side-effect profiles. Further high-quality double-blinded randomized sham-controlled trials are needed in order to fully explore the potential of this therapy.
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Review Meta Analysis
Intrathecal Dexmedetomidine and Postoperative Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was undertaken to evaluate the effect of intrathecal dexmedetomidine (DEX) on the duration of postoperative analgesia, postoperative pain scores and incidences of adverse effects. ⋯ The analgesic role of intrathecal DEX is promising due to its ability to significantly increase postoperative analgesic duration when compared with placebo. Its usage can be considered for patients undergoing surgeries with significant postoperative pain, particularly those intolerant of systemic analgesia. However, the optimal dose for various surgeries as well as its long-term neurological effects warrants further studies.
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Review Meta Analysis
Effectiveness of Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
To evaluate the effects of percutaneous electrical stimulation (PENS) alone or as an adjunct with other interventions on pain and related disability in musculoskeletal pain conditions. ⋯ This meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of PENS for the management of pain and related disability in musculoskeletal pain conditions found that PENS could decrease level of pain intensity but not relateddisability in musculoskeletal pain disorders.