Articles: pain-clinics.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
STRategies to Improve Pain and Enjoy life (STRIPE): results of a pragmatic randomized trial of pain coping skills training and opioid medication taper guidance for patients on long-term opioid therapy.
Because long-term opioid therapy (LtOT) for chronic pain has uncertain benefits and dose-dependent harms, safe and effective strategies for opioid tapering are needed. Adapting a promising pilot study intervention, we conducted the STRategies to Improve Pain and Enjoy life (STRIPE) pragmatic clinical trial. Patients in integrated health system on moderate-to-high dose of LtOT for chronic noncancer pain were randomized individually to usual care plus intervention (n = 79) or usual care only (n = 74). ⋯ We did not observe significant differences between intervention and usual care for MME (adjusted mean difference: -2.3 MME; 95% confidence interval: -10.6, 5.9; P = 0.578), the Pain, Enjoyment of Life, General Activity scale (0.0 [95% confidence interval: -0.5, 0.5], P = 0.985), or most secondary outcomes. The intervention did not lower opioid dose or improve pain or functioning. Other strategies are needed to reduce opioid doses while improving pain and function for patients who have been on LtOT for years with high levels of medical, mental health, and substance use comorbidity.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Mechanisms of education and graded sensorimotor retraining in people with chronic low back pain: a mediation analysis.
An improved understanding of the biopsychosocial influences that contribute to and maintain pain has promoted the development of new efficacious treatments for chronic low back pain (CLBP). This study aimed to investigate the mechanisms of a new treatment-education and graded sensorimotor retraining-on pain and disability. We conducted a preplanned causal mediation analysis of a randomized clinical trial which allocated 276 participants with CLBP to 12 weekly clinical sessions of education and graded sensorimotor retraining (n = 138) or a sham and attention control (n = 138). ⋯ Five of 7 mechanisms (71%) mediated the intervention effect on disability; the largest mediated effects were for beliefs about back pain consequences (-1.66 [-2.62 to -0.87]), pain catastrophizing (-1.06 [-1.79 to -0.53]), and pain self-efficacy (-0.84 [-1.89 to -0.45]). When all 7 mechanisms were considered simultaneously, the joint mediation effect explained most of the intervention effect for both pain and disability. Optimizing interventions to target beliefs about the consequences of back pain, pain catastrophizing, and pain self-efficacy is likely to lead to improved outcomes for people with CLBP.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Randomized Trial Examining Efficacy of Mentha piperita in Reducing Chronic Headache Discomfort in Youth.
Youth with chronic headache experience disruption to routine activities and require significant health care utilization. While interventions targeting a relaxation response have shown clinically significant benefit in headache outcomes, peppermint oil has not been evaluated for efficacy in a pediatric headache population. ⋯ A brief intervention intended to activate the relaxation response produced a subjective reduction in pain and anxiety. However, the addition of peppermint oil to a foot bath did not significantly improve pain or anxiety beyond the control condition.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of extracorporeal shockwave therapy for mild knee osteoarthritis: A pilot study.
Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) has been widely used for various musculoskeletal disorders, including knee osteoarthritis (OA), and has been shown in several studies to be a safe treatment. Although some studies have confirmed the pain-relieving effect of ESWT for knee OA, research on objectivity for structural changes in knee OA is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ESWT treatment mechanisms in patients with knee OA by means of clinical symptoms and ultrasound techniques as objective measures. ⋯ Although the therapeutic activity itself could improve OA symptoms, objective improvements were only observed after ESWT. Suprapatellar effusion height was reduced after ESWT and the effect was maintained after 1-month. Our results suggest that ESWT may be effective in reducing suprapatellar effusion and improving symptoms in mild knee OA. However, studies with a larger sample size are required.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Early clinical efficacy analysis of enhanced recovery following surgery combined with interscalene brachial plexus block for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.
To explore the early clinical value of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) with interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) for arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR). We enrolled 240 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 80 each). Groups A, B, and C underwent only surgery, surgery + ERAS, and ISB + surgery + ERAS, respectively. ⋯ Joint swelling was more common in Group A than in Groups B and C (P < .05) but with no significant difference in the incidence of postoperative stiffness (P > .05). ERAS can relieve postoperative pain, shorten LOS, and help restore shoulder joint mobility, thereby reducing postoperative swelling. ISB + ERAS optimized pain control and allowed a shorter LOS, but had similar effects on early functional recovery and complications.