Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Although chronic pain is a source of work-related disability, relatively little research has addressed the psychological factors that differentiate individuals in chronic pain who leave the workforce from those who remain on the job despite their pain. ⋯ Results revealed both demographic and attitudinal predictors of continued employment and highlight the value of harnessing insights from the psychology of work engagement to better understand the processes underlying pain presenteeism. Interventions designed to keep persons with pain in the active work force should build upon and extend the present findings.
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Observational Study
Pain assessment in patellar tendinopathy using pain pressure threshold algometry: an observational study.
Assessing pain in patellar tendinopathy (PT) is difficult to perform in a standardized way. With this study, we measured pain in athletes with PT by means of pain pressure threshold (PPT) algometry in a standardized manner. Subsequently, the goal of this study is to determine normative values for clinical use. ⋯ PPT algometry should be considered by clinicians as a pain assessment tool in patients with PT. The optimal cut-off point for the PPT to distinguish between PT athletes and healthy athletes was 36.8 N.
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Observational Study
The noninferiority of the nonparticulate steroid dexamethasone vs the particulate steroids betamethasone and triamcinolone in lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections.
To assess whether a nonparticulate steroid (dexamethasone, 10 mg) is less clinically effective than the particulate steroids (triamcinolone, 80 mg; betamethasone, 12 mg) in lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESIs) in subjects with radicular pain with or without radiculopathy. ⋯ This retrospective observational study reveals no evidence that dexamethasone is less effective than particulate steroids in lumbar TFESIs performed for radicular pain with or without radiculopathy.
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The long-term effects of disease and treatment in colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors are poorly understood. This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of pain in a sample of CRC survivors up to 10 years post-treatment. ⋯ Chronic pain is likely a burdensome problem for a small but not inconsequential minority of CRC survivors requiring a biopsychosocial treatment approach to improve recognition and treatment. Open dialogue between clinicians and survivors about physical and emotional symptoms in long-term follow-up is highly recommended.