STRONG STAR and the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD: Shaping the future of combat PTSD and related conditions in military and veteran populations.

The STRONG STAR Consortium (South Texas Research Organizational Network Guiding Studies on Trauma and Resilience) and the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD are interdisciplinary and multi-institutional research consortia focused on the detection, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid conditions in military personnel and veterans. This manuscript outlines the consortia's state-of-the-science collaborative research model and how this can be used as a roadmap for future trauma-related research. STRONG STAR was initially funded for 5 years in 2008 by the U.

Establishing Central Sensitization-Related Symptom Severity Subgroups: A Multicountry Study Using the Central Sensitization Inventory.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to identify central sensitization-related symptom severity subgroups in a large multicountry sample composed of patients with chronic pain and pain-free individuals using the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI).

Methods: A large, pooled international (N = 8 countries) sample of chronic pain patients plus healthy subjects (total N = 2,620) was randomly divided into two subsamples for cross-validation purposes. First, a hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was performed using CSI item-level data as clustering variables (test sample; N = 1,312).

Central Sensitization in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Disorders in Different Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: Chronic musculoskeletal pain disorders (CMPDs) are among the leading causes of disabilities across populations, resulting in high social and financial burden. This persistent pain condition may include the central sensitization (CS) phenomenon, which implies a wide range of symptoms and that may be taken into account in CMPD treatment. CS symptoms can be measured by the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI).

Cross-cultural adaptation and validity of the Spanish fear-avoidance components scale and clinical implications in primary care.

Background: Pain-related fear-avoidance (FA) is a common problem affecting many patients with painful medical conditions. As there is great interest in the clinical importance of the relationship between FA and disability, several questionnaires have been developed to measure FA. The Fear-Avoidance Components Scale (FACS) is a recently developed patient-reported instrument that addresses critical issues not previously considered in previous FA-related questionnaires.

Osteopathic Medical Care With and Without Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Pain Registry-Based Study.

Context: The OSTEOPATHIC Trial demonstrated substantial improvement in pain intensity, decreased need for rescue medication for pain, and greater likelihood of recovery in patients with chronic low back pain who received 6 osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) sessions over 3 months.

Objective: To assess osteopathic medical care and the effectiveness of OMT for chronic low back pain in a real-world setting without the constraints of a rigid research protocol.

Methods: An observational study of 445 adults with chronic low back pain who had an established osteopathic physician (ie, DO) or allopathic physician (ie, MD) was conducted within the PRECISION Pain Research Registry from April 2016 through February 2019.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Pain Medication Questionnaire for use in Brazil.

Background: The Pain Medication Questionnaire (PMQ) assesses the risk of opioid abuse in people with non-oncological chronic pain.

Methods: This is a methodological study conducted at a hemotherapy centre in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. A Cross-cultural adaptation was carried out by a committee of nine specialists, and we applied the PMQ to a pre-final sample of 40 individuals with sickle cell anemia, in addition to a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire.

Transitioning from acute to chronic pain: a simulation study of trajectories of low back pain.

Background: Identifying how pain transitions from acute to chronic is critical in designing effective prevention and management techniques for patients' well-being, physically, psychosocially, and financially. There is an increasingly pressing need for a quantitative and predictive method to evaluate how low back pain trajectories are classified and, subsequently, how we can more effectively intervene during these progression stages.

Methods: In order to better understand pain mechanisms, we investigated, using computational modeling, how best to describe pain trajectories by developing a platform by which we studied the transition of acute chronic pain.

Considerations in addressing the opioid epidemic and chronic pain within the USA.

This article reviews the complexities of the opioid epidemic, considering recent research involving the current state of the opioid epidemic; chronic pain and its role in the crisis; the properties of opioids and how they interact with human neurobiology; the effectiveness and risks of opioids as a treatment for chronic pain; opioid addiction and dependence; and pharmacological and psychological interventions for opioid addiction, opioid dependence, and chronic pain management. Opioid abuse can be reduced with the availability and access to treatment facilities for opioid detoxification; using interdisciplinary treatment models for chronic pain, opioid addiction and dependence; conducting more research in the areas of opioid addiction and opioid dependence; and shifting to an increase in nonpharmacological, less invasive treatments for pain.

Psychometric validation of the Serbian version of the Fear Avoidance Component Scale (FACS).

Objective: The Fear Avoidance Components Scale (FACS) is a new patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaire designed to comprehensively evaluate fear avoidance (FA) beliefs and attitudes in persons with painful medical conditions. The original English version has demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties, including concurrent and predictive validity. Two factors have been identified: 1.

The Pain Registry for Epidemiological, Clinical, and Interventional Studies and Innovation (PRECISION): registry overview and protocol for a propensity score-matched study of opioid prescribing in patients with low back pain.

Background: Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are recommended as the first-line pharmacologic therapy for subacute or chronic low back pain, with opioids reserved for patients who fail on NSAIDs. , , and genes have variants that place patients using analgesics at risk for adverse events.

The Biopsychosocial-Digital Approach to Health and Disease: Call for a Paradigm Expansion.

Digital health is an advancing phenomenon in modern health care systems. Currently, numerous stakeholders in various countries are evaluating the potential benefits of digital health solutions at the individual, population, and/or organizational levels. Additionally, driving factors are being created from the customer-side of the health care systems to push health care providers, policymakers, or researchers to embrace digital health solutions.

Research Agenda for the Prevention of Pain and Its Impact: Report of the Work Group on the Prevention of Acute and Chronic Pain of the Federal Pain Research Strategy.

Unlabelled: After the 2011 Institute of Medicine report on chronic pain, the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC) was created to enhance research efforts among federal agencies. The IPRCC and Office of Pain Policy at the National Institutes of Health collaborated to identify gaps in knowledge and address them via a Federal Pain Research Strategy (FPRS). Interdisciplinary work groups (WGs) were established to make research recommendations in 5 areas: prevention of acute and chronic pain, acute pain and acute pain management, transition from acute to chronic pain, chronic pain and chronic pain management, and disparities in pain and pain care; cross-cutting issues were also considered.

Dimensionality and Reliability of the Central Sensitization Inventory in a Pooled Multicountry Sample.

Unlabelled: Central sensitization (CS) involves the amplification of neural signaling within the central nervous system, which evokes pain hypersensitivity. The Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) assesses 25 overlapping health-related symptom dimensions that have been reported to be associated with CS-related disorders. Previous studies have reported satisfactory test-retest reliability and internal consistency, but factor analyses have exhibited conflicting results in different language versions.

Biopsychosocial Measures Related to Chronic Low Back Pain Postural Control in Older Adults.

This study examined the biopsychosocial measures related to postural control in the growing population of older adults (i.e., 60 years and older).

Pharmacological treatment of depression in geriatric chronic pain patients: a biopsychosocial approach integrating functional restoration.

A recent literature review concluded that the comorbidity of chronic pain and depression in adults is approximately 50%-65%. Physical and cognitive declines, concurrent multiple health conditions, and complex medication regimens add to the unique and complex challenges of effectively treating pain in particularly geriatric populations. Interdisciplinary medical intervention and monitoring for psychiatric sequelae, such as depression, cognitive change, and synergistic physical side effects are necessary.

The Fear-Avoidance Components Scale (FACS): Responsiveness to Functional Restoration Treatment in a Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Disorder (CMPD) Population.

Objectives: To assess the clinical validity and factor structure of the Fear-Avoidance Components Scale (FACS), a new fear-avoidance measure.

Materials And Methods: In this study, 426 chronic musculoskeletal pain disorder patients were admitted to a Functional Restoration Program (FRP). They were categorized into 5 FACS severity levels, from subclinical to extreme, at admission, and again at discharge.

Prefrontal hemodynamic mapping by functional near-infrared spectroscopy in response to thermal stimulations over three body sites.

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to examine hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during noxious thermal pain, induced by thermal stimulations over three different body sites over the right forearm, right temporomandibular joint, and left forearm. Functional NIRS measurements were obtained from three groups of healthy volunteers, one group for each body region. Each group was subjected to both low-pain stimulation (LPS) and high-pain stimulation (HPS) by a [Formula: see text] thermode of a temperature-controlled thermal stimulator over the respective three body sites.