Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effects of combined respiratory-gated auricular vagal afferent nerve stimulation and mindfulness meditation for chronic low back pain: a pilot study.
Respiratory-gated Auricular Vagal Afferent Nerve stimulation (RAVANS) is a safe nonpharmacological approach to managing chronic pain. The purpose of the current study was to examine (1) the feasibility and acceptability of RAVANS, combined with mindful meditation (MM) for chronic low back pain (CLBP), (2) the potential synergy of MM+RAVANS on improving pain, and (3) possible moderators of the influence of MM+RAVANS on pain. ⋯ Results suggest that for CLBP patients with prior MM training, the analgesic effects of MM may have overshadowed effects of RAVANS given the brief single session MM+RAVANS intervention. However, those with greater negative affect may benefit from combined MM+RAVANS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Counseling Veterans with Chronic Pain during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Veterans with chronic pain could be vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. We qualitatively explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a sample of veterans receiving brief counseling focused on pain management in an ongoing clinical trial and discuss how the pandemic affected the process of motivating veterans with chronic pain to engage in interdisciplinary multimodal pain treatment at the Department of Veteran Affairs. ⋯ Counselors can leverage feelings of resilience and personal growth to motivate veterans' use of adaptive coping skills and a wider array of pain management services.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Intraarticular Platelet Rich Plasma vs Corticosteroid Injections for Sacroiliac Joint Pain-a Double Blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial.
Using stringent inclusion criteria, a double-blinded study protocol, and fluoroscopically guided injections, we compare intra-articular sacroiliac joint platelet-rich plasma injections with intra-articular steroids. ⋯ Although both groups showed improvements in pain and function, the steroid group had significantly greater response and significantly more responders than did the platelet-rich plasma group.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Depression predicts chronic pain interference in racially diverse, income-disadvantaged patients.
Chronic pain is one of the most common reason adults seek medical care in the United States, with prevalence estimates ranging from 11% to 40%. Mindfulness meditation has been associated with significant improvements in pain, depression, physical and mental health, sleep, and overall quality of life. Group medical visits are increasingly common and are effective at treating myriad illnesses, including chronic pain. Integrative Medical Group Visits (IMGV) combine mindfulness techniques, evidence based integrative medicine, and medical group visits and can be used as adjuncts to medications, particularly in diverse underserved populations with limited access to non-pharmacological therapies. ⋯ In the context of the associated clinical trial and similar interventions, these insights may inform future treatment optimization, targeting, and application efforts in racialized, income-disadvantaged populations, demographics often neglected in studies of chronic pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Community Perspectives on Patient Credibility and Provider Burden in the Treatment of Chronic Pain.
This study examined factors influencing lay perceptions of a provider's clinical burden in providing care to a person with chronic pain. ⋯ The lay public is skeptical of chronic pain that is not supported by medical evidence or is reported at high levels of severity, raising concerns about psychosocial complications and drug seeking and expectations of higher burden of care. Such negative stereotypes can pose obstacles to people seeking necessary care if they or others develop a chronic pain condition.