Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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To determine the frequency of superior cluneal nerve entrapment (SCN-E) in patients who applied to our outpatient clinic with low back pain. ⋯ In patients with chronic low back pain, SCN-E is not a rare cause and is often overlooked. Increasing the awareness and experience of physicians on SCN-E will prevent patients from being exposed to unnecessary surgical or non-surgical treatments.
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Despite a long history of disparities in medicine, women have made significant progress toward gender equity in medical schools, training programs, and many fields in recent years. However, pain medicine has remained behind most specialties in female recruitment and representation. ⋯ Given these trends, it is likely that persistent gender disparities and biases play a role in preventing women from pursuing careers in pain, and unlikely that the current trajectory will change unless we take steps to address these and other relevant factors.
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Low back pain (LBP) is a highly prevalent condition that comprise a large portion of outpatient practice, challenging the diagnosis and treatment. However, the diagnostic tools are limited to clinical history, physical examination and imaging. Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a significant cause of LBP, and emerging literature confirms the elevated levels of biomarkers in the discs. These biomarkers may serve as a tool for diagnosis, but may also be useful in predicting the treatment outcome. Here, we examine the expression of various cytokines on 1-year recovery from patients with LBP. ⋯ The results from our study support that TNF-α expression at baseline can serve as a very important predictor of treatment response from lumbar fusion surgery.
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Herniated intervertebral disc (HIVD) with radiculopathy is a common degenerative spine disorder. Transforaminal epidural steroid injection (TFESI) is one of the pain relief treatments for lumbar radiculopathy recommended by evidence-based guidelines. Adequate contrast distribution is correlated with better pain control, but the best approach has not been confirmed yet. ⋯ The FLLR-TFESI has a superior contrast enhancement and distribution in comparison to conventional approach. Prospective study to confirm the study result as well as the clinical benefits is suggested in the future.