Journal of psychosomatic research
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Prevalence and correlates of posttreatment and anticipatory nausea and vomiting (NV) were examined in 149 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at four treatment centres. Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that posttreatment NV was associated with treatment centre, diagnosis, drug toxicity, and frequency of antiemetic premedication. ⋯ Variables showing significant unique effects included age, treatment centre, posttreatment NV and the age by posttreatment NV interaction. Results suggest the importance of examining environmental, psychosocial, and treatment-related variables that may differentiate treatment centres and strongly support the role of classical conditioning in the development of anticipatory NV.
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Eleven women with a clinical diagnosis of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and ten non-PMS control women were compared on physiological measures in the intermenstrual and premenstrual phases of their menstrual cycle. Heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL) were monitored during baseline conditions and in response to a stressful laboratory procedure. ⋯ Pain intensity ratings were found to be overall higher in the PMS group irrespective of menstrual cycle phase. The role of cognitive-perceptual processes is discussed in the context of the acquisition and maintenance of PMS symptomatology.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial Controlled Clinical Trial
Effects of acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on cold-induced pain in normal subjects.
The effects of acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) at high (100 Hz) and low (8 Hz) frequency and placebo on pain induced by cold immersion of the hand were studied in 46 young healthy male and female volunteers. Acupuncture produced significant elevations of pain threshold, while 100 Hz TENS or placebo had no effect. ⋯ There was some evidence that the L scale score of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire predicted analgesic outcome for 8 Hz TENS. No significant relationship was found between baseline pain threshold or tolerance and personality variables.
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Review
Effectiveness of biofeedback for treating migraine and tension headaches: a review of the evidence.
A review of the research reveals no evidence that finger temperature biofeedback training or temporal artery pulse biofeedback training is effective for treating migraine headaches. On the other hand, there is evidence that EMG biofeedback training is effective for treating tension headaches, but the EMG biofeedback training is not more effective than less complex and less expensive relaxation training. Reasons for the ineffectiveness of biofeedback training are discussed. The results of the controlled investigations are in sharp contrast to the prevailing beliefs and the results have a variety of implications.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Labor room and laboratory: clinical validation of the cold pressor as a means of testing preparation for childbirth strategies.
Annually, numerous couples prepare for childbirth through Lamaze childbirth education classes. Research on various portions of the Lamaze method has used the cold pressor as an analogue for labor. In this experiment, pregnant women who had attended either (a) Lamaze classes which taught pain control methods (n = 22), or (b) Red Cross parenting classes which did not teach pain control methods (n = 7), and students who received either (c) brief Lamaze training (n = 10), or (d) no training (n = 10), were tested on the cold pressor. ⋯ Post hoc analyses showed that women who managed labor pain well performed better on the cold pressor task than women who did not manage labor pain well. This experiment established some limits for applying analogue results to childbirth. Moreover, it showed that women who attended Lamaze classes received less medication during labor than women who attended Red Cross classes; however, it was not clear whether this difference was due to the Lamaze classes per se, or to other uncontrolled variables.