Background: Pressure pain threshold (PPT) is decreased in several musculoskeletal disorders, giving indirect evidence regarding pain status. Despite the fact that PPT has been already proven to be reliable in patients with acute conditions, there is great variability of methods and results observed within studies, and only a few evidences confirming its reliability in chronic conditions.
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of PPT in the neck and low back regions to discriminate individuals with neck or low back pain from healthy individuals. Additionally, one secondary aim was to establish the minimum detectable change (MDC) and the standard error of measurement for future clinical studies and interventions.
Methods: In this reliability study, 74 individuals (15 individuals from the neck pain and 17 from the neck control group; 21 individuals from the low back pain and 21 from the low back control group). PPT was measured in the neck region (suboccipital, trapezius and supraspinal muscles) and in the lower back region (paraspinal muscles in the levels of L1, L3 and L5). Intrarater reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coeficient and Bland-Altman.
Results: Excellent intra-rater reliability was observed for both (ICC of 0.874 for the neck pain versus ICC of 0.895 in neck control group; ICC of 0.932 for the low back pain group versus ICC of 0.839 for the control group). A small bias was observed for all groups (-0.08 for the neck pain group versus 0.10 in the control group; and 0.32 in low back pain group versus 0.44 in the control group). Minimum detectable change of 0.63 kgf of neck pain and 1.21 kgf of low back pain was calculated. It was found difference in PPT between pain and control groups (p< 0.05).
Conclusion: It may be suggested that the protocol with PPT is reliable and able to discriminate individuals with and without neck and low back pain with a minor measurement error. Therefore, this method may be used to detect possible progress after interventions in patients with neck or low back pain.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3233/BMR-181208 | DOI Listing |
Rheumatol Ther
January 2025
Biosplice Therapeutics, Inc., 9360 Towne Centre Dr, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA.
Introduction: Lorecivivint (LOR), a CDC-like kinase/dual-specificity tyrosine kinase (CLK/DYRK) inhibitor thought to modulate inflammatory and Wnt pathways, is being developed as a potential intra-articular knee osteoarthritis (OA) treatment. The objective of this trial was to evaluate long-term safety of LOR within an observational extension of two phase 2 trials.
Methods: This 60-month, observational extension study (NCT02951026) of a 12-month phase 2a trial (NCT02536833) and 6-month phase 2b trial (NCT03122860) was administratively closed after 36 months as data inferences became limited.
Pain Ther
January 2025
Department of Medicine, Nephrology Division, University of Verona, Verona, Italy.
Introduction: Pain is one of the most frequently reported symptoms in hemodialyzed (HD) patients, with prevalence rates between 33% and 82%. Risk factors for chronic pain in HD patients are older age, long-lasting dialysis history, several concomitant diseases, malnutrition, and others. However, chronic pain assessment in HD patients is rarely performed by specialists in pain medicine, with relevant consequences in terms of diagnostic and treatment accuracy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Case Rep
January 2025
Radiodiagnosis and Interventional Radiology, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Budd-Chiari syndrome with obstruction in the inferior vena cava causes increased venous pressure in the azygous-hemiazygous system and paravertebral venous plexus, which is transmitted to the epidural venous plexus, devoid of the valves. It causes epidural venous plexus engorgement and venous congestion and may present rarely with low back pain or radiating pain. However, patients developing lower limb weakness as a complication of Budd-Chiari syndrome is an infrequent and severe presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hand Ther
January 2025
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Background: Usually, patients with hand, wrist/forearm disorders report musculoskeletal complaints in the shoulder. Although, role of scapula is fundamental for movement and functional stability across the upper limb kinetic chain; however, there are no systematic reviews and meta-analyses that have analyzed the effect of scapular exercises in these patients.
Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of a scapular exercise program on functional outcomes in patients with hand, wrist or elbow disorders.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev
January 2025
Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany. Electronic address:
Understanding how the brain distinguishes emotional from neutral scenes is crucial for advancing brain-computer interfaces, enabling real-time emotion detection for faster, more effective responses, and improving treatments for emotional disorders like depression and anxiety. However, inconsistent research findings have arisen from differences in study settings, such as variations in the time windows, brain regions, and emotion categories examined across studies. This review sought to compile the existing literature on the timing at which the adult brain differentiates basic affective from neutral scenes in less than one second, as previous studies have consistently shown that the brain can begin recognizing emotions within just a few milliseconds.
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