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

Associations among gastroesophageal reflux disease, mental disorders, sleep and chronic temporomandibular disorder: a case-control study

BACKGROUND

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a family of pain-related disorders associated with impaired function in the jaw, temporomandibular joint and muscles of mastication. Our objectives were to evaluate the association between chronic TMD and gastresophageal reflux disease (GERD) and to determine whether mental disorders or undermined sleep mediates this association.

METHODS

We conducted a case-control study involving 1522 consecutive adult patients with chronic TMD and 1522 matched controls from 2 hospitals in China. All participants were aged between 18 and 70 years and were recruited from July 2017 to April 2018 Chronic TMD was diagnosed by trained dentists using the criteria in the Orofacial Pain Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment Study. Trained gastroenterologists made blinded diagnoses of GERD according to the Montreal definition and classification (at least 2 d of mild symptoms, or 1 d of moderate or severe symptoms per week). We used validated questionnaires to evaluate psychological status and sleep quality.

RESULTS

Of the study participants, we identified 132 patients and 61 controls with GERD. Using conditional logistic regression analysis, we identified GERD as a risk factor for TMD (odds ratio 2.74, 95% confidence interval 1.88 to 3.98). Mediation analyses identified that somatization, anxiety and undermined sleep moderately mediated the relation between TMD and GERD.

INTERPRETATION

Our study suggests that symptomatic GERD is associated with chronic, painful TMD, and somatization, anxiety and undermined sleep mediate this association to a certain extent. Due consideration should be given to the evaluation and management of gastrointestinal symptoms and mental disorders in the combined therapy for painful TMD.

Framework for improving outcome prediction for acute to chronic low back pain transitions

Clinical practice guidelines and the Federal Pain Research Strategy (United States) have recently highlighted research priorities to lessen the public health impact of low back pain (LBP). It may be necessary to improve existing predictive approaches to meet these research priorities for the transition from acute to chronic LBP. In this article, we first present a mapping review of previous studies investigating this transition and, from the characterization of the mapping review, present a predictive framework that accounts for limitations in the identified studies. Potential advantages of implementing this predictive framework are further considered. These advantages include (1) leveraging routinely collected health care data to improve prediction of the development of chronic LBP and (2) facilitating use of advanced analytical approaches that may improve prediction accuracy. Furthermore, successful implementation of this predictive framework in the electronic health record would allow for widespread testing of accuracy resulting in validated clinical decision aids for predicting chronic LBP development.

Musculoskeletal pain stakeholder engagement and partnership development: determining patient-centered research priorities

BACKGROUND

Musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is a global public health problem with increased societal burden. Increased attention has focused toward patient and other stakeholder perspectives when determining future MSK pain research priorities, however infrastructure and capacity building within the community are needed for individuals and organizations to participate in patient-centered outcomes research. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe our collaborative experiences with several MSK pain stakeholders and processes to identify a top priority research topic.

METHODS

Lunch meetings and formalized workshops were used to develop infrastructure for engaging patients and other stakeholders with early capacity building for partners to identify MSK pain research ideas based on their personal experiences. Additional capacity building and engagement through literature searching further prepared partners to contribute informed decisions about MSK pain research topics and subsequent selection of an important research question.

RESULTS

Several key deliverables (e.g., Governance Document, Communication Plan) were developed and completed over the course of this project to provide partnership structure. Other key deliverables included a list of preliminary comparative effectiveness research ideas (n = 8) and selection of shared decision making for MSK pain as the top priority research topic with patient partners identifying pain self-efficacy as an important outcome domain.

CONCLUSIONS

Our patient partners provided the catalyst for identifying shared decision making as a high priority research topic based on a wide spectrum of stakeholder perspectives and unique experiences. Patient partners were primarily identified using a single rehabilitation health system and clinician partners were heavily weighted by physical therapists which may have introduced selection bias.

The mechanisms of pain tolerance and pain-related anxiety in acute pain

This study emphasizes the role of pain catastrophizing and state anxiety on pain tolerance and pain-related anxiety. Response expectancies for pain tolerance and pain intensity were tested as potential mediators. A cold-pressor task was used on a healthy sample. Measures were taken before and after cold-pressor procedure, while aversive versus neutral information regarding the cold-pressor task was given prior to the pain induction. An exploratory path model was conducted. Similar paths for pain tolerance and for pain-related anxiety were shown in aversive condition. Also, psychological measures may explain pain experience in aversive context.

Factors associated with persistently high-cost health care utilization for musculoskeletal pain

BACKGROUND

Musculoskeletal pain conditions incur high costs and produce significant personal and public health consequences, including disability and opioid-related mortality. Persistence of high-cost health care utilization for musculoskeletal pain may help identify system inefficiencies that could limit value of care. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with persistent high-cost utilization among individuals seeking health care for musculoskeletal pain.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data (2008-2013) that included a non-institutionalized, population-based sample of individuals seeking health care for a musculoskeletal pain condition (n = 12,985). Expenditures associated with musculoskeletal pain conditions over two consecutive years were analyzed from prescribed medicine, office-based medical provider visits, outpatient department visits, emergency room visits, inpatient hospital stays, and home health visits. Persistent high-cost utilization was defined as being in the top 15th percentile for annual musculoskeletal pain-related expenditures over 2 consecutive years. We used multinomial regression to determine which modifiable and non-modifiable sociodemographic, health, and pain-related variables were associated with persistent high-cost utilization.

RESULTS

Approximately 35% of direct costs for musculoskeletal pain were concentrated among the 4% defined as persistent high-cost utilizers. Non-modifiable variables associated with expenditure group classification included age, race, poverty level, geographic region, insurance status, diagnosis type and total number of musculoskeletal pain diagnoses. Modifiable variables associated with increased risk of high expenditure classification were higher number of missed work days, greater pain interference, and higher use of prescription medication for pain, while higher self-reported physical and mental health were associated with lower risk of high expenditure classification.

CONCLUSIONS

Health care delivery models that prospectively identify these potentially modifiable factors may improve the costs and value of care for individuals with musculoskeletal pain prone to risk for high-cost care episodes.

Targeted interventions to prevent transitioning from acute to chronic low back pain in high-risk patients: development and delivery of a pragmatic training course of psychologically informed physical therapy for the TARGET trial

BACKGROUND

Low back pain (LBP) is a public health concern because it is highly prevalent and the leading cause of disability worldwide. Psychologically informed physical therapy (PIPT) is a secondary prevention approach that first aims to identify individuals at high risk for transitioning to chronicity and then provides tailored treatment to reduce that risk. Training models that are feasible to implement with acceptable training quality are needed to improve scalability for widespread implementation of PIPT. This manuscript describes the PIPT training program that was developed for training physical therapists providing PIPT in the TARGET trial.

METHODS

The PIPT training program was developed, tested, and modified using an iterative process. Content development consisted of stakeholder engagement, beta testing, modification of training, and confirmation of final course objectives. Methods of delivery consisted of a website that included brief online educational modules followed by a live 8-h workshop that included video-based mock case scenarios and case-based role playing. Attitudes, beliefs, and confidence in implementing PIPT principles were assessed before and immediately after training to measure training quality and impact.

RESULTS

Early stakeholder engagement and beta testing indicated the need for increased emphasis on experiential learning opportunities and patient-centered communication training. Booster training varied extensively across TARGET sites with involvement of 'clinician champions' providing brief follow-up sessions identified as best practice. Favorable post-training changes in physical therapist attitudes and beliefs toward biopsychosocial treatment orientation and increased confidence in implementing PIPT principles were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

PIPT training for provider participation in the TARGET trial was feasible to deliver. Course content was acceptable to physical therapists and resulted in improved beliefs and confidence in applying PIPT skills during clinical practice. Ongoing consultation and site-based continuing education were methods by which specific TARGET sites maintained or augmented PIPT skill training; however, implementing ongoing training was challenging in general. Due to the pragmatic nature of the TARGET trial, it was not possible to directly measure the effect of PIPT training on treatment fidelity, which was a limitation of our approach.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02647658 . Registered on 6 January 2016.

Neuroimmune modulation of pain across the developmental spectrum

Today's treatment for chronic pain is inadequate, and novel targets need to be identified. This requires a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in pain sensitization and chronification. In this review, we discuss how peripheral inflammation, as occurs during an infection, modulates the central pain system. In rodents, neonatal inflammation leads to increased pain sensitivity in adulthood by priming immune components both peripherally and centrally. The excitability of neurons in the spinal cord is also altered by neonatal inflammation and may add to pain sensitization later in life. In adult humans, inflammation modulates pain sensitivity as well, partly by affecting the activity in brain areas that process and regulate pain signals. Low-grade inflammation is common in clinical populations both peripherally and centrally, and priming of the immune system has also been suggested in some pain populations. The nociceptive and immune systems are primed by infections and inflammation. The early life programming of nociceptive responses following exposure to infections or inflammation will define individual differences in adult pain perception. Immune-to-brain mechanisms and neuroimmune pathway need further investigation as they may serve both as predictors and therapeutic targets in chronic pain.

The Role of the Peripheral Nerve Surgeon in the Treatment of Pain

Pain is a frequent cause of physician visits. Many physicians find these patients challenging because they often have complicated histories, emotional comorbidities, confusing examinations, difficult problems to fix, and the possibility of factitious complaints for attention or narcotic pain medications. As a result, many patients are lumped into the category of chronic, centralized pain and relegated to pain management. However, recent literature suggests that surgical management of carefully diagnosed generators of pain can greatly reduce patients' pain and narcotic requirements. This article reviews recent literature on surgical management of pain and four specific sources of chronic pain amenable to surgical treatment: painful neuroma, nerve compression, myofascial/musculoskeletal pain, and complex regional pain syndrome type II.

Treating Chronic Nonmalignant Pain: Evidence and Faith-Based Approaches

A significant portion of the world's population is impacted by chronic pain; in the United States, chronic pain costs billions annually in treatment and lost productivity. A needs assessment was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of chronic nonmalignant pain (CNMP) at a university occupational therapy clinic over a 3-month period; recommendations were made to improve pain management at the clinic and referring hospital system. Graded Chronic Pain Scale 2.0 results indicated the prevalence of CNMP was a significant problem. Three evidence-based interventions based on the biblically based CREATION Health Model were developed.

Transitioning from Acute to Chronic Pain: An Examination of Different Trajectories of Low-Back Pain

Traditionally, there has been a widely accepted notion that the transition from acute to chronic pain follows a linear trajectory, where an injury leads to acute episodes, subacute stages, and progresses to a chronic pain condition. However, it appears that pain progression is much more complicated and individualized than this original unsupported assumption. It is now becoming apparent that, while this linear progression may occur, it is not the only path that pain, specifically low-back pain, follows. It is clear there is a definite need to evaluate how low-back pain trajectories are classified and, subsequently, how we can more effectively intervene during these progression stages. In order to better understand and manage pain conditions, we must examine the different pain trajectories, and develop a standard by which to use these classifications, so that clinicians can better identify and predict patient-needs and customize treatments for maximum efficacy. The present article examines the most recent trajectory research, and highlights the importance of developing a broader model for patient evaluation.