Pain physician
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Transforaminal hypertonic saline for the treatment of lumbar lateral canal stenosis: a double-blinded, randomized, active-control trial.
Degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis is one of the most common causes of chronic lower back pain and radiculopathy. Spinal stenosis is anatomically classified as central and lateral spinal canal stenosis. Many treatment modalities and techniques, including surgery and epidural injection, have been used to manage the pain. However, the effect of hypertonic saline injection via the transforaminal approach has not yet been studied. ⋯ Superior short-term pain relieving efficacy, but limited long-term effects of hypertonic saline, when added to TFEIs.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Stimulation of the greater occipital nerve: anatomical considerations and clinical implications.
Stimulation of the greater occipital nerve has been employed for various intractable headache conditions for more than a decade. Still, prospective studies that correlate stimulation of the greater occipital nerve with outcome of patients with respect to alleviation of headache are sparsely found in literature. ⋯ From our study we conclude that a reproducible stimulation of the greater occipital nerve can be achieved by placing the electrodes parallel to the atlas, at about 30 mm distance to the external occipital protuberance. The response to the stimulation is not correlated to the field width of the paraesthesia. We, therefore, consider stimulation of the main trunk of the greater occipital nerve to be more important than a large field of stimulation on the occiput. Still, an individual response to the occipital nerve stimulation cannot be predicted even by optimal electrode placement.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Pupillometry: the influence of gender and anxiety on the pain response.
Studies suggest that the pain response may be evaluated using pupillometry and is influenced by factors such as gender and anxiety. ⋯ The pupil dilation in response to a painful stimulus was similar in both genders. Additionally, regardless of gender, the average pupil diameter was greater in the presence of moderate to severe anxiety.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Anatomical basis of ulnar approach in carpal tunnel injection.
Local steroid injection may be an effective conservative treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome; however, the use of a blind injection technique can increase the chance of median nerve or ulnar artery injury due to median nerve swelling or the close proximity of the median nerve and ulnar artery around the distal wrist crease. ⋯ It is important to recognize the risk of blind local steroid injection for carpal tunnel syndrome, which is most likely a result of swelling and/or flattening of the median nerve around the distal wrist crease. A real time, ultrasound-guided local steroid injection is preferred as a safe and accurate technique in carpal tunnel syndrome treatment.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Tapentadol immediate release versus oxycodone immediate release for treatment of acute low back pain.
Tapentadol has demonstrated analgesic efficacy across a range of pain conditions. ⋯ NCT00986180.