3. Pain originating from the lumbar facet joints.

Introduction: Pain originating from the lumbar facets can be defined as pain that arises from the innervated structures comprising the joint: the subchondral bone, synovium, synovial folds, and joint capsule. Reported prevalence rates range from 4.8% to over 50% among patients with mechanical low back pain, with diagnosis heavily dependent on the criteria employed.

Long-Term Evaluation of Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients With Painful Diabetic Polyneuropathy: An Eight-to-Ten-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in patients with painful diabetic polyneuropathy (PDPN).

Materials And Methods: This prospective cohort study was the eight-to-ten-year follow-up of a previously performed pilot and randomized controlled trial on the effects of SCS in PDPN, initiated by the multidisciplinary pain center of Maastricht University Medical Center+. The study population consisted of a subgroup of patients who still used SCS treatment ≥ eight years after implantation (n = 19).

A proposed nomenclature for spinal imaging and interventional procedural reporting.

Objective: To develop precise universal standard interventional spine nomenclature for reporting procedural details and anatomy.

Methods: There is no comprehensive nomenclature of spinal imaging anatomy that can be used for anatomical and procedural reporting. Given this critical lack of unifying terminology, a system of nomenclature was developed de novo by expert consensus, based upon clinical needs, and previously published reports.

Low back pain.

Low back pain covers a spectrum of different types of pain (eg, nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic, or non-specific) that frequently overlap. The elements comprising the lumbar spine (eg, soft tissue, vertebrae, zygapophyseal and sacroiliac joints, intervertebral discs, and neurovascular structures) are prone to different stressors, and each of these, alone or in combination, can contribute to low back pain. Due to numerous factors related to low back pain, and the low specificity of imaging and diagnostic injections, diagnostic methods for this condition continue to be a subject of controversy.

Consensus practice guidelines on interventions for lumbar facet joint pain from a multispecialty, international working group.

Background: The past two decades have witnessed a surge in the use of lumbar facet blocks and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to treat low back pain (LBP), yet nearly all aspects of the procedures remain controversial.

Methods: After approval by the Board of Directors of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, letters were sent to a dozen pain societies, as well as representatives from the US Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense. A steering committee was convened to select preliminary questions, which were revised by the full committee.

"Evidence-Based Interventional Pain Medicine According to Clinical Diagnoses": Update 2018.

Introduction: Between 2009 and 2011 a series of 26 articles on evidence-based medicine for interventional pain medicine according to clinical diagnoses were published. The high number of publications since the last literature search justified an update.

Methods: For the update an independent 3rd party, specialized in systematic reviews was asked in 2015 to perform the literature search and summarize relevant evidence using Cochrane and GRADE methodology to compile guidelines on interventional pain management.

Low back pain.

Low back pain affects individuals of all ages and is a leading contributor to disease burden worldwide. Despite advancements in assessment and treatment methods, the management of low back pain remains a challenge for researchers and clinicians alike. One reason for the limited success in identifying effective treatments is the large variation in the manifestations, possible causes, precipitating and maintaining factors, course, prognosis and consequences in terms of activity interference and quality of life.

Safe Use of Epidural Corticosteroid Injections: Recommendations of the WIP Benelux Work Group.

Background: Epidural corticosteroid injections are used frequently worldwide in the treatment of radicular pain. Concerns have arisen involving rare major neurologic injuries after this treatment. Recommendations to prevent these complications have been published, but local implementation is not always feasible due to local circumstances, necessitating local recommendations based on literature review.

Pulsed radiofrequency in chronic pain.

Purpose Of Review: The increasing number of publications on pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment of chronic pain reflects the interest for this technique. We summarize the literature for PRF in five indications: radicular pain, trigeminal neuralgia (TN), occipital neuralgia, shoulder and knee pain.

Recent Findings: The efficacy and safety of PRF adjacent to the dorsal root ganglion was documented on cervical and on lumbar level.

Validation of standard operating procedures in a multicenter retrospective study to identify -omics biomarkers for chronic low back pain.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is one of the most common medical conditions, ranking as the greatest contributor to global disability and accounting for huge societal costs based on the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. Large genetic and -omics studies provide a promising avenue for the screening, development and validation of biomarkers useful for personalized diagnosis and treatment (precision medicine). Multicentre studies are needed for such an effort, and a standardized and homogeneous approach is vital for recruitment of large numbers of participants among different centres (clinical and laboratories) to obtain robust and reproducible results.

'Omics' biomarkers associated with chronic low back pain: protocol of a retrospective longitudinal study.

Introduction: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) produces considerable direct costs as well as indirect burdens for society, industry and health systems. CLBP is characterised by heterogeneity, inclusion of several pain syndromes, different underlying molecular pathologies and interaction with psychosocial factors that leads to a range of clinical manifestations. There is still much to understand in the underlying pathological processes and the non-psychosocial factors which account for differences in outcomes.

Past, Present, and Future of Informed Consent in Pain and Genomics Research: Challenges Facing Global Medical Community.

In recent decades, there has been a revision of the role of institutional review boards with the intention of protecting human subjects from harm and exploitation in research. Informed consent aims to protect the subject by explaining all of the benefits and risks associated with a specific research project. To date, there has not been a review published analyzing issues of informed consent in research in the field of genetic/Omics in subjects with chronic pain, and the current review aims to fill that gap in the ethical aspects of such investigation.

Interfascial Spread of Injectate After Adductor Canal Injection in Fresh Human Cadavers.

The adductor canal block has become a common analgesic technique in patients undergoing knee arthroplasty. Dispersion of local anesthetic outside the adductor canal through interfascial layers and blockade of smaller nerves that confer innervation to the knee could contribute to the analgesic efficacy of the adductor canal block. We studied the diffusion of local anesthetic mixed with dye after injection into the adductor canal in fresh human cadavers.

Predictive Factors for Successful Outcome of Pulsed Radiofrequency Treatment in Patients with Intractable Lumbosacral Radicular Pain.

Background: In a previous prospective study on pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment adjacent to the lumbar dorsal root ganglion (DRG) for patients with chronic lumbosacral radicular pain, we reported success in 55.4% of the patients at 6 months. Identification of predictors for success after PRF may improve outcome.

Pulsed radiofrequency for chronic intractable lumbosacral radicular pain: a six-month cohort study.

Background And Objectives: There is little evidence concerning the medical management of lumbosacral radicular pain. The prognosis for patients suffering pain for more than 3 months is poor. Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment of the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) has been suggested as a minimally invasive treatment.

Percutaneous pulsed radiofrequency treatment of the cervical dorsal root ganglion in the treatment of chronic cervical pain syndromes: a clinical audit.

Cervicogenic headache and cervicobrachialgia are frequent diagnoses of chronic cervical pain. After failure of conservative treatment, an interventional approach may be indicated in the absence of any indication for causal surgical treatment. The pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) technique exposes the nerve to a high-frequency electric field while the temperature of the electrode tip does not exceed 42°C.