Pain Management Commons^™

Denver Pain Authenticity Stimulus Set (D-Pass), E. Paige Lloyd, Kevin M. Summers, Christopher A. Gunderson, Rachael E. Weesner, Leanne Ten Brinke, Kurt Hugenberg, Allen R. Mcconnell

Denver Pain Authenticity Stimulus Set

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Biological Correlates Of The Effects Of Auricular Point Acupressure On Pain, Hongyu Wang, Jingyu Zhang, Xinyi Sun, Thomas J Smith

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: To identify candidate inflammatory biomarkers for the underlying mechanism of auricular point acupressure (APA) on pain relief and examine the correlations among pain intensity, interference, and inflammatory biomarkers.

DESIGN: This is a secondary data analysis.

METHODS: Data on inflammatory biomarkers collected via blood samples and patient self-reported pain intensity and interference from three pilot studies (chronic low back pain, n = 61; arthralgia related to aromatase inhibitors, n = 20; and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, n = 15) were integrated and analyzed. This paper reports the results based on within-subject treatment effects (change in scores from pre- to post-APA intervention) for …

The Efficacy Of Limbic System Retraining And Neuroplasticity In The Management Of Chronic Pain And Disease: A Systematic Review, Julia Carr

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Chronic pain and disease are prevalent, affecting 51.6 million people in 2023. Therefore, due to the high complexity of chronic disease, many providers try different interventions to alleviate pain and improve their patient's quality of life. The limbic system is a critical component of the brain involved in pain perception and emotional regulation. With an overactive limbic system, the perception of pain is enhanced and continues to cause discomfort for the patient. By retraining the limbic system to alter the fight or flight response, a significant reduction in pain can be achieved, which results in better emotion regulation. The …

The Effectiveness Of Laser Acupuncture In Pain Management: A Systematic Review, June Park

Theses and Graduate Projects

Background: Pain is a common symptom across many medical conditions that patients experience. Pain management is complex and may need a combination of several management techniques. Laser acupuncture(LA) has been previously used as an adjunct to conventional pain treatments.

Objective: This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of laser acupuncture in various fields of medical situations such as chronic pain, low back pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, postoperative pain and dental procedures.

Methods: A computer based literature search of databases through GoogleScholar and PubMed was used to identify randomized controlled trials(RCTs) published after 2018 that studied the effect of LA in …

Measuring Brain Activity Using Fnirs During Discomfort Mitigation With Vr Meditation, Jordan Sammarco

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Pain perception can be drastically affected by external factors in the surrounding environment. Previous studies relying on subjective ratings of pain have shown that guided meditations supplemented by virtual reality (VR) can reduce the perception of pain more successfully than the audio alone. The research question for this study was: How does the efficacy of meditation as a means of pain mitigation differ with and without the application of VR? To answer this question, we used fNIRS to visualize changes in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which has been shown to play a role in the larger pain matrix in …

The Influence Of Genetics, Insulin Resistance, Oxidative Stress, And Energy Deficit On Migraine, Victoria Dm Maldonado Llinas

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The pathomechanism of migraine attacks is not understood well, however, is currently believed to be a brain disorder. Migraine is a multifactorial disorder that needs to be investigated in multiple research areas to shed light into its mechanism and find ways to treat it effectively. Migraine episodes come from one or many things at the same time, and such vary from person to person. However, sufficient evidence in recent studies show there is a strong relationship between genetics with patients having specific genes that may be responsible for the disease or a genetic sequence passed down through generations in families, …

Efficacy Of Adapted Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program In Treating Patients With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, Kate Whipple

Scripps Senior Theses

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) has been applied in many contexts, and has been found to be a helpful therapeutic intervention for people dealing with both mental and physical struggles. In recent years, studies exploring the effects of using MBSR in the neurorehabilitation people with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have emerged. However, these studies are primarily pilot studies with very few participants. This proposed study will explore whether an adapted version of the MBSR program is effective in reducing apathy and improving motivation to recover in participants with mild TBIs (mTBIs). The proposed study will have 76 participants and will uses …

Mental Health Stigma In South Asians With Crohn’S Disease, Bansi Patel

Scripps Senior Theses

Chronically ill individuals often face comorbid mental illnesses. Mental illness symptoms can cause their chronic illness symptoms to worsen; the converse is also true. Such is the case with Crohn’s disease (CD) patients. The present literature lacks research on the relationship between CD and mental illness symptoms. Additionally, the literature lacks chronically ill participants who are South Asian Americans (SAA). SAA often face more mental health stigma than their white peers which can worsen one’s mental illness symptoms. This study examines the impact that mental health symptoms have on the psychological distress faced by SAA who are diagnosed with CD. …

Mpacts Of Parental Incarceration On Child's Well-Being And Interventions To Support Them, Anna Stacey Roberge

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study reviews the effectiveness and impact of current interventions for children who have incarcerated parents in New Hampshire. The negative impacts of parental incarceration have led to the need for these intervention strategies. Recently psychologists and behavioral experts have conducted their studies which show that children who have incarcerated parents are more likely to display delinquent behaviors. Additionally, studies have shown that parental incarceration can lead to the experiencing of several more psychological difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, and learning disorders (Kremer et al., 2020). Several communities have worked to implement interventions that will help these children avoid falling …

Pain Experience And Sensory Changes In Astronauts During And After Short-Lasting Commercial Spaceflight: A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Andrea K Sauer, Marie Vigouroux, Patrick M Dougherty, Juan Pablo Cata, Pablo M Ingelmo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Space travel has been associated with musculoskeletal pain, yet little is known about the nociceptive changes and pain experience during spaceflight. This preliminary study aims to investigate the pain experience and sensory alterations in astronauts following a 17-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Axiom Space's AX-1 commercial space flight. Two participants were enrolled, and data were collected pre-flight, in-flight, post-flight, and three-month post-flight. Validated pain questionnaires assessed anxiety, catastrophizing, impact on physical and mental health, disability, and overall pain experience. Qualitative interviews were conducted post-landing and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and quantitative sensory testing (QST) were performed. …

Pain Experience And Sensory Changes In Astronauts During And After Short-Lasting Commercial Spaceflight: A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Andrea K Sauer, Marie Vigouroux, Patrick M Dougherty, Juan Pablo Cata, Pablo M Ingelmo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Space travel has been associated with musculoskeletal pain, yet little is known about the nociceptive changes and pain experience during spaceflight. This preliminary study aims to investigate the pain experience and sensory alterations in astronauts following a 17-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Axiom Space's AX-1 commercial space flight. Two participants were enrolled, and data were collected pre-flight, in-flight, post-flight, and three-month post-flight. Validated pain questionnaires assessed anxiety, catastrophizing, impact on physical and mental health, disability, and overall pain experience. Qualitative interviews were conducted post-landing and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and quantitative sensory testing (QST) were performed. …

Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Intercostal Cryoneurolysis For Acute-On-Chronic Pain In Cloves Syndrome

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Cryoneurolysis is an analgesic method that has been shown to provide extended pain relief in postoperative patients. However, to date, this method has not been described in nonsurgical inpatients with chronic pain experiencing an acute exacerbation. This analgesic modality has the potential to provide pain relief for patients whose expected duration of severe acute pain would outlast that of other regional anesthetic techniques while avoiding opioid escalation and facilitating discharge. We present a patient with acute exacerbation of chronic pain from breast ulcerations caused by congenital lipomatous overgrowth, vascular malformations, epidermal nevis, spinal/skeletal anomalies/scoliosis (CLOVES) syndrome that was successfully treated …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of New Multimodal Analgesia Regimen For Cardiac Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized Controlled, Single-Center Clinical Study, Yihao Huang, Jiapeng Huang, Kefang Guo

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of multimodal regimen by paracetamol, gabapentin, ketamine, lidocaine, dexmedetomidine and sufentanil among cardiac surgery patients, and compare the analgesia efficacy with conventional sufentanil-based regimen.

DESIGN: A single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial.

SETTING: One participating center, the cardiovascular center of the major integrated teaching hospital.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 115 patients were assessed for eligibility: 108 patients were randomized, 7 cases were excluded.

INTERVENTIONS: The control group (group T) received conventional anesthesia management. Interventions in the multimodal group (group M) were as follows in addition to the standard of care: gabapentin and acetaminophen 1 hour …

A Need For Further Education On Buprenorphine In Pain Medicine, Omar Viswanath

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

With the ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States there has been a strong transition towards utilizing multi-modal analgesia, interventional procedures, and non-opioid medications when managing acute and chronic pain. There has also been an increased interest in utilizing buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is a novel long-acting analgesic with partial mu-opioid agonist activity that can be utilized for analgesia as well as opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine also has a unique set of side effects as well pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties that require special attention, especially if these patients require future surgical interventions. Given the increased interest in this medication we believe that …

Successful Treatment Of Myofascial Pain Syndrome (Mps) With Surgical Cauterization Of Temporalis Muscle Trigger Points: A Case Report

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

For patients suffering from myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) affecting muscles of mastication, traditional trigger point therapy treatment regimens can prove inconvenient, due to the short duration of pain relief after each injection and expense of repeated visits which are often not covered by insurance. We present a case of a patient treated using an alternative technique that could develop into an additional modality for treating MPS patients who are refractory to conservative treatment. This technique involves identifying and marking the patient's trigger points and surgically cauterizing each location using a Bovie electrosurgical unit. While traditional trigger point injection therapy for …

A Forehead Wearable Sensor For The Objective Measurement Of Chronic Pain

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Chronic pain impacts one in five Americans and is difficult to manage, costing ~USD 600 billion annually. The subjective experience of pain is a complex processing of central nervous system input. Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging revealed the prefrontal cortex as vital to the perception of pain and that changes in the cerebral hemodynamics can be used to detect painful sensations. Current pain monitoring is dependent on the subjective rating provided by patients and is limited to a single time point. We have developed a biomarker for the objective, real-time and continuous chronic pain assessment using proprietary algorithms termed …

Opioid Use Disorder In The Active Service: Incidence Rates And Behavioral Health Considerations, Brian A. Moore, Sophie Vincent, Michael Schlenk, Anne White

Symposium of Student Scholars

Military service members experience occupational specific injuries that often result in chronic pain, and comorbid behavioral health concerns that may be exacerbated by opioid use. Despite the vast amount of research examining substance use in the military, there is a dearth of literature examining the incidence of opioid use disorder (OUD). The present epidemiological study aims to examine the incident rate trends of OUD diagnoses among active duty service members between 2016 and 2021. The present study utilized data drawn from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) to conduct a retrospective cohort study and calculate the incidence rate of OUD …

A Pilot Survey: Retention In Pain Medicine Among Fellowship Trained Anesthesiologists, Naum Shaparin

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: We aim to explore the factors related to job satisfaction among pain physicians and identify the reasons why individuals minimize or stop practicing outpatient pain medicine.

OBJECTIVES/STUDY DESIGN: This is a survey-based study with the primary goal to identify factors determining job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among pain medicine fellowship graduates who continue to practice and those who are no longer practicing interventional pain. A secondary goal is to elucidate reasons for anesthesiologists trained in pain medicine to leave pain medicine, despite an additional year of training, and to work as general anesthesiologists.

METHODS: In this study, all 114 pain …

The Effect Of Executive Function On The Development Of Chronic Pain: A Prospective Longitudinal Study, Wee Qin Ng, Andree Hartanto

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Increasing evidence suggests a close association between chronic pain and executive function, a set of cognitive processes necessary for goal-directed behaviors. However, there is a dearth of longitudinal studies examining the predictive effect of executive function on the development of chronic pain. Drawing on the cyclical model of executive function and health, we sought to examine how executive function, measured at baseline, may predict chronic pain etiology approximately 9 years later. Using a large-scale dataset of midlife adults (N = 1553) from the MIDUS 2 and 3 (Midlife Development in the United States) studies, we employed multivariate logistic regression to …

Hdac2 In Primary Sensory Neurons Constitutively Restrains Chronic Pain By Repressing Α2Δ-1 Expression And Associated Nmda Receptor Activity, Jixiang Zhang, Shao-Rui Chen, Meng-Hua Zhou, Daozhong Jin, Hong Chen, Ronald A Depinho

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

α2δ-1 (encoded by the Cacna2d1 gene) is a newly discovered NMDA receptor-interacting protein and is the therapeutic target of gabapentinoids (e.g., gabapentin and pregabalin) frequently used for treating patients with neuropathic pain. Nerve injury causes sustained α2δ-1 upregulation in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG), which promotes NMDA receptor synaptic trafficking and activation in the spinal dorsal horn, a hallmark of chronic neuropathic pain. However, little is known about how nerve injury initiates and maintains the high expression level of α2δ-1 to sustain chronic pain. Here, we show that nerve injury caused histone hyperacetylation and diminished enrichment of histone deacetylase-2 (HDAC2), …