Reduced Visuospatial Attention in Personal Space is Not Limited to the Affected Limb in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

Purpose: Alterations in spatial attention have been reported in people with chronic pain and may be relevant to understanding its cortical mechanisms and developing novel treatments. There is conflicting evidence as to whether people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) have reduced visuospatial attention to their affected limb and/or its surrounding space, with some evidence that these deficits may be greater in personal (bodily) space. We aimed to test the competing hypotheses of whether the visuospatial attentional bias is specific to the personal space of the affected limb or generalizes to the personal space of other parts of the affected side of the body.

Predicting patient-reported outcomes following lumbar spine surgery: development and external validation of multivariable prediction models.

Background: This study aimed to develop and externally validate prediction models of spinal surgery outcomes based on a retrospective review of a prospective clinical database, uniquely comparing multivariate regression and random forest (machine learning) approaches, and identifying the most important predictors.

Methods: Outcomes were change in back and leg pain intensity and Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) from baseline to the last available postoperative follow-up (3-24 months), defined as minimal clinically important change (MCID) and continuous change score. Eligible patients underwent lumbar spine surgery for degenerative pathology between 2011 and 2021.

The sensorimotor theory of pathological pain revisited.

Harris (1999) proposed that pain can arise in the absence of tissue damage because changes in the cortical representation of the painful body part lead to incongruences between motor intention and sensory feedback. This idea, subsequently termed the sensorimotor theory of pain, has formed the basis for novel treatments for pathological pain. Here we review the evidence that people with pathological pain have changes to processes contributing to sensorimotor function: motor function, sensory feedback, cognitive representations of the body and its surrounding space, multisensory processing, and sensorimotor integration.

Predictors of Pain and Disability Outcomes Following Spinal Surgery for Chronic Low Back and Radicular Pain: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Success rates of spinal surgeries to treat chronic back pain are highly variable and useable prognostic indicators are lacking. We aimed to identify and evaluate preoperative predictors of pain and disability after spinal surgery for chronic low back/leg pain.

Methods: Electronic database (01/1984-03/2021) and reference searches identified 2622 unique citations.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Predictors of Return to Work After Spinal Surgery for Chronic Low Back and Leg Pain.

Spinal surgeries to treat chronic low back pain (CLBP) have variable success rates, and despite the significant personal and socioeconomic implications, we lack consensus for prognostic factors. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the evidence for preoperative predictors of return to work (RTW) after spinal surgery for CLBP. We searched electronic databases and references (January 1984 to March 2021), screened 2,622 unique citations, and included 8 reports (5 low and 3 high risk-of-bias) which involved adults with ≥3 months duration of CLBP with/without leg pain undergoing first elective lumbar surgery with RTW assessed ≥3 months later.