Reduction In Pain-related Disability Research Articles

Manual Medicine in the Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Syndromes: Evaluation of an Inpatient Treatment Programme

AbstractObjectiveEvaluation of the influence of an inpatient manual medical concept for patients suffering from chronic musculoskeletal pain syndromes on the quality of life and on target parameters of a bio psychological and social concept of pain (VAS, PDI, CES-D). We also studied the predictability of treatment outcome in relation to the Mainz Pain Stages.Method211 patients of the Clinic for Manual Medicine were included in the study. Selected parameters such as pain intensity (VAS), disability in daily life (PDI), and grade of depression (CES-D) were evaluated over a period of two years after inpatient treatment. The patients were divided into groups according to the Mainz Pain Stages.ResultsThe patients were well distributed within the Mainz Pain Stages. It was shown that the manual therapy concept influenced different parameters dependent on the Mainz Pain Stages. For stages I and II the reduction in pain was greatest, while for stage III the reduction in pain related disability (PDI) was the most s...

Acupuncture and hypotherapy in the treatment of chronic pain in children

The purpose of this study was to determine if a 6-week combined package of acupuncture and hypnotherapy was feasible and acceptable in the tertiary care environment of a university-based pediatric pain management clinic. Thirty-three patients, sequentially referred to the clinic for treatment of chronic pain, were offered entry to the study, with 31 accepting the study treatment and 28 completing the 6-week program. Study participants ranged in age from 6–18 years (71% females, comparable to the clinic population in general). Patient and parent reports of pain and pain-related disability were assessed at the patient's first and last study visit, as well as patients' pain ratings before and after each of the six weekly treatment sessions. In addition to their usual biomedical drug therapies, participants were offered a 6-week package of acupuncture and hypnotherapy as additional treatment. The acupuncture was carried out on the basis of standard traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnosis. The hypnotherapy was conducted during the 20 min that the needles were in place. Twenty-six percent of the patients reported previous experience with acupuncture, and 13% had received hypnotherapy previously. Based on the six paired ‘current pain’ pre/post session ratings, participants experienced an average of a 46% reduction in self-rated pain, with a significant reduction in pain following each session. Over the entire 6 weeks of the study, based on pre/post study ratings, participants experienced a 28% reduction in ‘average’ pain, a 44% reduction in ‘current’ pain, and a 32% reduction in pain-related disability. Patients were divided according to TCM diagnostic category (shi and xu groups). Patients with a xu diagnosis reported significantly more pain at baseline study entry than did children with a shi diagnosis, but there were no differences in response to treatment based on the TCM diagnosis. The study suggests that a 6-week package of acupuncture and hypnotherapy is a feasible, acceptable, and effective complimentary treatment for children with chronic pain.