Advancing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Methods for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: An Open-Label Study of Paired Theta Burst and High-Frequency Stimulation.

Introduction: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a rare and severe chronic pain condition, often responds poorly to existing treatments. Previous studies demonstrated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) provided short-term pain relief for upper extremity CRPS.

Methods: Building on previous methodologies, we employed a TMS protocol that may lead to significant pain relief for upper and lower extremity CRPS in a nonrandomized open label pilot trial involving 21 participants.

Pain catastrophizing mediates the relationship between trait happiness and depressive symptoms in individuals with current pain.

Objective: There is an extensive relationship between chronic pain and depression; however, there is less research examining whether pain-specific factors, such as pain intensity, predict depression, above and beyond the role of normative factors, such as positive emotions. The current study characterized the independent contributions of pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, and a trait measure of happiness to self-rated depressive symptoms.

Methods: We recruited and enrolled 70 volunteers across 3 groups of participants: two groups of patients with current low back pain (one group on opioids and one group opioid-naïve), and individuals in a methadone maintenance treatment program.