COVID-19 and chronic pain: Implications and lessons learned.

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted people with chronic pain, affecting their access to pain management services and the social fabric of society. Here we review evidence indicating that during and since the pandemic (1) the overall prevalence and burden of chronic pain has increased, (2) social threats such as social isolation, abuse and neglect, and disparities in access to pain management, have increased, and these changes are associated with worsening pain and pain-related health outcomes, and (3) there has been a surge in research into telehealth interventions for chronic pain, with promising results. We conclude with a discussion of lessons that may guide future research and care for people with chronic pain in a post-COVID world.

Evaluation of the Acceptability and Feasibility of Stress Mitigation Education and Support Delivered via Telehealth for People After Road Traffic Musculoskeletal/Orthopedic Injury.

Purpose: To evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of a consumer co-designed telehealth intervention which aimed to reduce claimant distress by providing pain management strategies, informational and social support to people who had made a compensation claim following road traffic musculoskeletal injury.

Methods: Eleven claimant participants who were at risk of a poor outcome completed the intervention in a one-on-one setting with the same clinician delivering the program across all sessions.They were interviewed about their experience (acceptability and feasibility including the use of telehealth).

MuscleMap: An Open-Source, Community-Supported Consortium for Whole-Body Quantitative MRI of Muscle.

Disorders affecting the neurological and musculoskeletal systems represent international health priorities. A significant impediment to progress in trials of new therapies is the absence of responsive, objective, and valid outcome measures sensitive to early disease changes. A key finding in individuals with neuromuscular and musculoskeletal disorders is the compositional changes to muscles, evinced by the expression of fatty infiltrates.

Efficacy of an mHealth intervention to support pain self-management and improve analgesia in patients with rib fractures: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: In light of the risks of over-reliance on opioid analgesia during recovery from rib fractures, there is increased interest in the efficacy of non-pharmacological approaches to pain management. This paper describes the protocol for a double-blind randomised controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of an mHealth intervention for reducing pain intensity, pain-related distress and opioid use during early recovery from rib fractures.

Methods And Analysis: Adults (N=120) with isolated rib fractures will be recruited within 24 hours of admission to a large public hospital in Sydney, Australia (single site), and randomised (1:1 allocation) to an intervention or active control group.

Claimant and clinician perspectives on sources of claimant distress in interactions with Australian compensation schemes: a qualitative study.

Purpose: Recovering from compensable injuries can be influenced by a variety of factors including the claimant's experience of distress during the claims process. In order to develop cross-scheme, nation-wide strategies to improve claimants' interactions with the compensation system, reduce claimant distress, and improve claimant outcomes, it is important to understand sources of claims-related distress from the perspective of both claimants and clinicians.

Methods: An exploratory qualitative design was undertaken using semi-structured interviews with 13 claimants and 26 clinicians from four injury compensation schemes in five Australian states.

Reducing strain on primary healthcare systems through innovative models of care: the impact of direct access physiotherapy for musculoskeletal conditions-an interrupted time series analysis.

Objectives: To evaluate the longitudinal impact of introducing a national, direct access physiotherapy model of care on the rates of primary and secondary care consultations for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

Design: Interrupted time series analysis using segmented linear regression.

Setting: Norway primary care PARTICIPANTS: A cohort of 82 072 participants was derived from 3 population-based health surveys conducted across separate geographical regions in Norway.

Perioperative Patient Perspectives on Orthognathic Surgery - A Prospective Study.

Introduction: Understanding patient motivations and expectations of orthognathic surgery are critical aspects of the perioperative assessment, as these factors have been demonstrated to influence patient satisfaction with surgical outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients undergoing orthognathic surgery by a tertiary oral and maxillofacial surgeon underwent two structured interviews to explore their pre-operative motivations for orthognathic surgery, their post-operative reflections on the surgery and their outcomes. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

Impact of healthcare interventions on distress following acute musculoskeletal/orthopaedic injury: a scoping review of systematic reviews.

Background: Musculoskeletal injuries can cause distress, and distress is associated with delayed recovery. Numerous interventions have been developed to facilitate recovery from injury, and several systematic reviews evaluate the efficacy of these interventions for reducing psychological distress.

Objectives: This scoping review aims to map the synthesised evidence for the relationship between treatment interventions and distress-related outcomes following acute injury.

Social Determinants and Consequences of Pain: Toward Multilevel, Intersectional, and Life Course Perspectives.

Despite wide endorsement of a biopsychosocial framework for pain, social aspects of pain remain rarely addressed in the context of pain prevention and management. In this review, we aim to 1) examine the broad scope of social determinants and consequences of pain and their interactions across multiple levels of organization, and 2) provide a framework synthesizing existing concepts and potential areas for future work on social aspects of pain, drawing upon socioecological, intersectional, and life course approaches. Integrating interdisciplinary theory and evidence, we outline pathways through which multilevel social factors and pain may affect each other over time.

A digital health intervention to support patients with chronic pain during prescription opioid tapering: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Recent changes in opioid prescribing guidelines have led to an increasing number of patients with chronic pain being recommended to taper. However, opioid tapering can be challenging, and many patients require support.

Objectives: We evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a codesigned digital health intervention to support patients with chronic pain during voluntary prescription opioid tapering.

Optimal cut-offs of depression screening tools during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.

Background: Studies have reported an increase in the prevalence of depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. The accuracy of screening tools may change with the prevalence and distribution of a disease in a population or sample: the "Spectrum Effect".

Methods: First, we selected commonly used screening tools and developed search strategies for the inclusion of original studies during the pandemic.

Text messaging intervention to support patients with chronic pain during prescription opioid tapering: protocol for a double-blind randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Increases in pain and interference with quality of life is a common concern among people with chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) who are tapering opioid medications. Research indicates that access to social and psychological support for pain self-management may help people to reduce their opioid dose without increasing pain and interference. This study evaluates the efficacy of a text messaging intervention designed to provide people with CNCP with social and psychological support for pain self-management while tapering long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) under the guidance of their prescriber.

Experiences of misuse and symptoms of dependence among people who use gabapentinoids: a qualitative systematic review protocol.

Introduction: Gabapentinoids are among the most widely prescribed pain medications. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that gabapentinoids may be associated with dependence and misuse. The aim of this systematic review is to synthesise the qualitative literature on gabapentinoid misuse and symptoms of dependence.

A digital health intervention to support patients with chronic pain during prescription opioid tapering: a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Recent changes in opioid prescribing guidelines have led to an increasing number of patients with chronic pain being recommended to taper. However, opioid tapering can be challenging, and many patients require support.

Objectives: We evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a co-designed psycho-educational video and SMS text messaging intervention to support patients with chronic pain during prescription opioid tapering.

Interest in Digital Peer-Delivered Interventions and Preferences to Improve Pain Self-efficacy and Reduce Loneliness Among Patients With Chronic Pain: Mixed Methods Co-design Study.

Background: Two important factors that prolong and exacerbate chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) and disability are low pain self-efficacy and loneliness. Yet, few interventions have shown long-term sustained improvements in pain self-efficacy, and there are no evidence-based treatments that target social connectedness in people living with CNCP. More effective and accessible interventions designed to target self-efficacy and social connectedness could ease the burden of CNCP.

Are group identity and sense of belonging relevant for group pain management programmes? An exploratory pilot study.

Introduction: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)-based programmes for chronic pain are often conducted in groups, most likely for time and cost efficiencies. However, there has been very little investigation of the role that the group itself, and particularly the processes occurring within the group, may play in individual outcomes. The objective of this study was to explore whether social group processes were relevant to key treatment outcomes of group CBT for chronic pain.

A Digital Video and Text Messaging Intervention to Support People With Chronic Pain During Opioid Tapering: Content Development Using Co-design.

Background: People living with chronic pain report that tapering prescribed opioids is challenging and more support is needed. In our formative research, consumers indicated that mobile health (mHealth) technology could be an acceptable form of support for opioid tapering and may improve tapering self-efficacy.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate and improve the content of an mHealth intervention before pilot-testing, based on consumer and clinician feedback.

Influence of Initial Health Care Provider on Subsequent Health Care Utilization for Patients With a New Onset of Low Back Pain: A Scoping Review.

Objective: The aim of this research was to examine the scope of evidence for the influence of a nonmedical initial provider on health care utilization and outcomes in people with low back pain (LBP).

Methods: Using scoping review methodology, we conducted an electronic search of 4 databases from inception to June 2021. Studies investigating the management of patients with a new onset of LBP by a nonmedical initial health care provider were identified.

Patient Responses to the Term Pain Catastrophizing: Thematic Analysis of Cross-sectional International Data.

Pain catastrophizing is understood as a negative cognitive and emotional response to pain. Researchers, advocates and patients have reported stigmatizing effects of the term in clinical settings and the media. We conducted an international study to investigate patient perspectives on the term pain catastrophizing.