Clinical Features and Intervention of Patients with Chronic Non-Oncologic Pain

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic non-oncologic pain is a clinical process that involves a large number of people worldwide. Some clinical entities such as fibromyalgia syndrome or patients with chronic low back pain are considered to experience pain as a clinical entity in itself and not as a symptom. Pain is defined as an aversive sensory experience that includes motor, motivational, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral alterations in the face of actual or potential tissue damage. This Special Issue aims to evaluate and address clinical areas of concern that are often overlooked in patients with persistent non-oncologic pain. We want to evaluate and address specific areas such as respiratory function in patients with chronic pain, the cardiovascular sphere, blood markers, biomechanical alterations, and even the cognitive sphere (concentration tasks, memory processes, etc.). To this end, we accept any methodological design for the evaluation and treatment of these clinical areas of interest, including systematic reviews and umbrella reviews with or without meta-analytic aggregation, randomized controlled trials, observational studies, pilot studies, and even case series and case reports.

Dr. Ferran Cuenca-Martínez
Prof. Dr. Josué Fernández-Carnero
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Journal of Clinical Medicine jcm	3.9	5.4	2012	17.9 Days	CHF 2600
Healthcare healthcare	2.8	2.7	2013	19.5 Days	CHF 2700
Diseases diseases	3.7	-	2013	18.8 Days	CHF 1800
Geriatrics geriatrics	2.3	2.7	2016	22.4 Days	CHF 1800

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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11 pages, 231 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Predisposition and Working Conditions for the Occurrence of Lumbar Syndrome in Medical Workers of the Clinical Center of Montenegro during the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Dragana Jovanović, Dragana Backović, Ana Tomas, Zoran Bukumirić and Bojan Koprivica

J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(8), 2431; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13082431 - 21 Apr 2024

Viewed by 532

Abstract

Background: Lumbar pain is a condition of discomfort in the lower back caused by numerous factors, lasting for short or longer periods of time. Healthcare professionals, regardless of the type of care they are engaged in, are at risk of lumbar pain. This [...] Read more.

Background: Lumbar pain is a condition of discomfort in the lower back caused by numerous factors, lasting for short or longer periods of time. Healthcare professionals, regardless of the type of care they are engaged in, are at risk of lumbar pain. This is the first study that deals with the problem of lumbar syndrome in health workers in Montenegro. Methods: This cross-sectional study included full-time health workers employed in the Clinical Center of Montenegro who were involved in the treatment of COVID-19 patients during 2020 and 2021. The survey consisted of general questions for collecting socio-demographic and COVID-19 engagement data; the Modified Nordic questionnaire was used for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms, and the EQ-5D—questionnaire was used to measure the quality of life associated with health. Results: The one-year prevalence of lumbar pain was 68.1%. Factors associated with lumbar pain were as follows: a higher degree of physical inactivity (each subject with a higher degree of physical inactivity had a 24% higher chance of occurrence of lumbar pain); a higher degree of load and over-engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic (each subject with a higher degree of workload had a nearly 50% higher chance of occurrence of lumbar pain); duration of engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic (subjects engaged up to a month were 4 times more likely to develop lumbar pain, and subjects engaged for 1–3 months were 3.5 times more likely to develop lumbar pain compared to those who were not engaged in COVID-19 treatment). This study also confirms that lumbar syndrome affects the quality of life of health workers. Conclusions: Lumbar syndrome is highly prevalent among healthcare professionals in the Clinical Center of Montenegro, especially in the population of nurses, where evidence-based preventive measures are needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Clinical Features and Intervention of Patients with Chronic Non-Oncologic Pain)

9 pages, 890 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Prevalence of Pain and Its Relationship with Age and Sex among Patients in Saudi Arabia

by Ali M. Alshami

J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(1), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13010133 - 26 Dec 2023

Viewed by 771

Abstract

Background: Studies investigating the prevalence of patients with pain referred for physical therapy in Saudi Arabia are scarce. This study aimed to estimate the period prevalence of pain that led to referrals for physical therapy and to evaluate the association between pain and [...] Read more.

Background: Studies investigating the prevalence of patients with pain referred for physical therapy in Saudi Arabia are scarce. This study aimed to estimate the period prevalence of pain that led to referrals for physical therapy and to evaluate the association between pain and patient age and sex. Methods: This retrospective study used data from the electronic health record system of a hospital for adult patients referred for physical therapy. Results: In total, 7426 (26.0%) patients (mean (±SD) age, 51.4 ± 15.0 years) experienced pain, the majority of whom were female (65.8%). The back (30.7%) was the most commonly reported pain region, followed by the neck (13.2%), shoulders (12.1%), and knees (11.8%). The referring physician(s) identified pain in a specific body region in 5894 of the 7426 (79.4%) patients. A moderate correlation was found between sex and pain region (Cramer’s V = 0.151, p < 0.001) and between age group and pain region (Cramer’s V = 0.10, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Pain was prevalent among adult patients referred for physical therapy and was moderately associated with sex and age. Further research examining the prevalence of pain and its risk factors in a larger, representative sample of the population is warranted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Clinical Features and Intervention of Patients with Chronic Non-Oncologic Pain)

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15 pages, 946 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Manual Therapy Effects on Nonspecific Neck Pain Are Not Mediated by Mechanisms Related to Conditioned Pain Modulation: A Randomized Clinical Trial

by Alberto Arribas-Romano, Josué Fernández-Carnero, Yeray González-Zamorano, Leonardo Rodríguez-Lagos, Isabel María Alguacil-Diego, Miguel Molina-Álvarez, David Morales Tejera and Francisco Mercado-Romero

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(12), 3894; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12123894 - 7 Jun 2023

Viewed by 2397

Abstract

Background. Manual therapy (MT) is a treatment recommended by clinical practice guidelines in the management of patients with neck pain. However, the mechanisms through which MT works remain unknown. The aim of the present study is to investigate if MT is mediated by [...] Read more.

Background. Manual therapy (MT) is a treatment recommended by clinical practice guidelines in the management of patients with neck pain. However, the mechanisms through which MT works remain unknown. The aim of the present study is to investigate if MT is mediated by mechanisms related to conditioned pain modulation (CPM), comparing the effects of painful with a pain-free MT treatment. Methods. A two-arm, parallel, randomized controlled clinical trial with concealed allocation and blinding of the outcome assessor was conducted in university students with chronic or recurrent nonspecific neck pain (NSNP). Participants received either a painful or pain-free MT session. Psychophysical variables including pressure pain thresholds, CPM, temporal summation of pain and cold pain intensity were assessed before and immediately after treatment. In addition, changes in neck pain intensity over the following 7 days and self-perceived improvement immediately and 7 days after treatment were assessed. Results: No significant differences were found between groups in any of the psychophysical variables or in patients’ self-perceived improvement. Only a significantly greater decrease in neck pain intensity immediately after treatment was found in the pain-free MT group compared to the painful MT group. Conclusion: The results suggest that the immediate and short-term effects of MT on NSNP are not mediated by CPM-related mechanisms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Clinical Features and Intervention of Patients with Chronic Non-Oncologic Pain)

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21 pages, 5981 KiB  

Open AccessSystematic Review

Respiratory Function Analysis in Patients with Chronic Pain: An Umbrella Review and Meta-Analysis of Pooled Findings

by Ferran Cuenca-Martínez, Núria Sempere-Rubio, Elena Muñoz-Gómez, Sara Mollà-Casanova, Enrique Carrasco-González and Francisco M. Martínez-Arnau

Healthcare 2023, 11(9), 1358; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11091358 - 8 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1453

Abstract

Background: The main aim of this umbrella review was to assess the respiratory function in patients with chronic pain (CP), including patients with chronic neck pain (CNP), chronic low back pain (CLBP), and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Methods: We searched in PubMed, PEDro, EMBASE, [...] Read more.

Background: The main aim of this umbrella review was to assess the respiratory function in patients with chronic pain (CP), including patients with chronic neck pain (CNP), chronic low back pain (CLBP), and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Methods: We searched in PubMed, PEDro, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Google Scholar (4 February 2023). The outcome measures were respiratory muscle strength (MIP/MEP) and pulmonary function (VC, MVV, FVC, FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC ratio, FEV_25–75, and PEF). This review was previously registered in the international prospective register of systematic reviews, PROSPERO (CRD42023396722). The methodological quality was analyzed using AMSTAR and ROBIS scales, and the strength of the evidence was established according to the guidelines advisory committee grading criteria. To compare the outcomes reported by the studies, we calculated the standardized mean differences and the corresponding 95% confidence interval for the continuous variables. Results: Four systematic reviews with and without meta-analysis were included, from which a total of 15 primary studies were extracted. Five meta-analyses were carried out, using analyses by subgroup according to the type of CP. The meta-analyzing variables were MIP, MEP, MVV, FEV₁, and FVC. Conclusions: Overall, patients with CP have decreased respiratory muscle strength with a moderate quality of evidence. Regarding the pulmonary function, patients with CNP showed a diminished VC, PEF, MVV, FEV₁, and FVC, while FEV_25–75 and the FEV₁/FVC ratio were conserved with a limited to moderate quality of evidence. Finally, patients with FMS and CLBP only showed a decrease in MVV with a limited quality of evidence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Clinical Features and Intervention of Patients with Chronic Non-Oncologic Pain)

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16 pages, 1338 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Effectiveness of a Manual Therapy Protocol in Women with Pelvic Pain Due to Endometriosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

by Elena Muñoz-Gómez, Ana María Alcaraz-Martínez, Sara Mollà-Casanova, Núria Sempere-Rubio, Marta Aguilar-Rodríguez, Pilar Serra-Añó and Marta Inglés

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(9), 3310; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12093310 - 6 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3135

Abstract

A randomized controlled trial was carried out to assess the effectiveness of a manual therapy protocol in terms of the clinical characteristics, quality of life, and emotional condition of the women with endometriosis-related pelvic pain. Forty-one women (mean age of 36.10 (6.97) years) [...] Read more.

A randomized controlled trial was carried out to assess the effectiveness of a manual therapy protocol in terms of the clinical characteristics, quality of life, and emotional condition of the women with endometriosis-related pelvic pain. Forty-one women (mean age of 36.10 (6.97) years) with pelvic pain due to endometriosis were randomly divided into (i) a manual therapy group (MTG) (n = 21) and (ii) a placebo group (PG) (n = 20). Both groups received an 8-week intervention. Pain, lumbar mobility, endometriosis health profile, quality of life, depression and anxiety levels, and the patient’s perception of change were assessed before (T0) and after (T1) the intervention, as well as at a one-month follow-up (T2) and a six-month follow-up (T3). The MTG significantly improved pain intensity, powerlessness, lumbar mobility, and physical quality of life at T1 (p < 0.05). The results were maintained for pain intensity at T2 and T3. In addition, both the MTG and PG improved emotional wellbeing at T1 (p < 0.05). Neither group improved in terms of social support, self-image, and depression and anxiety levels after the intervention (p > 0.05). In conclusion, manual therapy may be an excellent complement to the gynecological treatment of endometriosis-related pelvic pain by alleviating pain and improving women’s endometriosis health profile and physical quality of life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Clinical Features and Intervention of Patients with Chronic Non-Oncologic Pain)

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