July 2011 References   Devin J. Starlanyl   for http://www.sover.net/~devstar

Cherkin DC, Sherman KJ, Kahn J et al.  2011. A comparison of the effects of 2 types of massage and usual care on chronic low back pain: a randomized, controlled trial.  This study compared structural,  relaxation massage and usual care for chronic low back pain patients. The findings: “Massage therapy may be effective for treatment of chronic low back pain, with benefits lasting at least 6 months.”  Both massage varieties were equally effective. 

Evans S, Taub R, Tsao JC et al. 2010. Sociodemographic factors in a pediatric chronic pain clinic: The roles of age, sex and minority status in pain and health characteristics. J Pain Manag. 3(3):273-281. “Little is known about how sociodemographic factors relate to children's chronic pain. This paper describes the pain, health, and sociodemographic characteristics of a cohort of children presenting to an urban tertiary chronic pain clinic and documents the role of age, sex and minority status on pain-related characteristics. A multidisciplinary, tertiary clinic specializing in pediatric chronic pain. Two hundred and nineteen patients and their parents were given questionnaire packets to fill out prior to their intake appointment which included demographic information, clinical information, Child Health Questionnaire - Parent Report, Functional Disability Index - Parent Report, Child Somatization Index - Parent Report, and a Pain Intensity Scale. Additional clinical information was obtained from patients' medical records via chart review. This clinical sample exhibited compromised functioning in a number of domains, including school attendance, bodily pain, and health compared to normative data. Patients also exhibited high levels of functional disability. Minority children evidenced decreased sleep, increased somatization, higher levels of functional disability, and increased pain intensity compared to Caucasians. Caucasians were more likely to endorse headaches than minorities, and girls were more likely than boys to present with fibromyalgia. Younger children reported better functioning than did teens. The results indicate that sociodemographic factors are significantly associated with several pain-related characteristics in children with chronic pain. Further research must address potential mechanisms of these relationships and applications for treatment.”

Gulick DT, Palombaro K, Lattanzi JB. 2011. Effect of ischemic pressure using a Backnobber II device on discomfort associated with myofascial trigger points. J Bodyw Mov Ther 15(3):319-325.  The patients in this study had two TrPs in the upper back.  For these patients with limited TrPs, the therapy tool was effective in reducing TrP irritability.

Janis JE, Dhanik A, Howard JH. 2011. Validation of the peripheral trigger point theory of migraine headaches: single-surgeon experience using botulinum toxin and surgical decompression. Plast Reconstr Surg. 128(1):123-131. [Although less invasive treatments are often successful, this article is of interest in that it confirms a nasal TrP. DJS]

Nijs J, Daenen L, Cras P et al. 2011. Nociception Affects Motor Output: A Review on Sensory-motor Interaction with Focus on Clinical Implications. Clin J Pain. [Jun 27 Epub ahead of print]. 

“Nociception-induced motor inhibition might prevent effective motor retraining. In addition, the sympathetic nervous system responds to chronic nociception with enhanced sympathetic activation. Not only motor and sympathetic output pathways are affected by nociceptive input, afferent pathways (proprioception, somatosensory processing) are influenced by tonic muscle nociception as well.... The clinical consequence of the shift in thinking is to stop trying to restore normal motor control in case of chronic nociception. Activation of central nociceptive inhibitory mechanisms, by decreasing nociceptive input, might address nociception-motor interactions.”

Potenzieri C, Undem BJ. 2011. Basic mechanisms of itch. Clin Exp Allergy. [Jun 6. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2011.03791.x. Epub ahead of print]. “Studies have demonstrated that both peripheral and central sensitization to pruritogenic stimuli occur during chronic itch.”

Sharan D, Jacob BN, Ajeesh PS et al. 2011. The effect of cetylated fatty esters and physical therapy on myofascial pain syndrome of the neck. J Bodyw Mov Ther. 15(3):363-374. “Our results indicate that cetylated derivatives of fatty acids can effectively reduce pain and symptoms associated with neck MPS, when combined with physical therapy.”

Staud R. 2011. Sodium oxybate for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Expert Opin Pharmacother.  [Jun 16 Epub ahead of print]. “Introduction: Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a short-chain fatty acid that is synthesized within the CNS, mostly from its parent compound gamma amino butyric acid (GABA). GHB acts as a neuromodulator/neurotransmitter to affect neuronal activity of other neurotransmitters and so, stimulate the release of growth hormone. Its sodium salt (sodium oxybate: SXB) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of narcolepsy. SXB has shown to improve disrupted sleep and increase NR3 (slow-wave restorative) sleep in patients with narcolepsy. It is rapidly absorbed and has a plasma half-life of 30 - 60 min, necessitating twice-nightly dosing. Most of the observed effects of SXB result from binding to GABA-B receptors. Areas covered: Several randomized, controlled trials demonstrated significantly improved fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms with SXB. As seen in narcolepsy trials, SXB improved sleep of FM patients, increased slow-wave sleep duration as well as delta power, and reduced frequent night-time awakenings. Furthermore, FM pain and fatigue was consistently reduced with nightly SXB over time. Commonly reported adverse events included headache, nausea, dizziness and somnolence. Despite its proven efficacy, SXB did not receive FDA approval for the management of FM in 2010, mostly because of concerns about abuse. Expert opinion: Insomnia, fatigue and pain are important clinical FM symptoms that showed moderate improvements with SXB in several large, well-designed clinical trials. Because of the limited efficacy of currently available FM drugs additional treatment options are needed. In particular, drugs like SXB - which belong to a different drug class than other Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved FM medications such as pregabalin, duloxetine and milnacipran - would provide a much-needed addition to presently available treatment options. However, the FDA has set the bar high for future SXB re-submissions, with requirements of superior efficacy and improved risk mitigation strategies. At this time, no future FDA submission of SXB for the fibromyalgia indication is planned.”

Teixeira MJ, Yeng LT, Garcia OG et al. 2011. Failed back surgery pain syndrome: therapeutic approach descriptive study in 56 patients. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 57(3):286-291. [English, Portuguese] “The authors show the clinical evaluation and follow-up results in 56 patients diagnosed with a failed back surgery pain syndrome. ... In patients with a post-laminectomy syndrome, postoperative pain was more severe than preoperative pain from a herniated disk. A myofascial component was found in most patients.”