An Interventional Response Phenotyping Study in Chronic Low Back Pain: Protocol for a Mechanistic Randomized Controlled Trial.

Evidence-based treatments for chronic low back pain (cLBP) typically work well in only a fraction of patients, and at present there is little guidance regarding what treatment should be used in which patients. Our central hypothesis is that an interventional response phenotyping study can identify individuals with different underlying mechanisms for their pain who thus respond differentially to evidence-based treatments for cLBP. Thus, we will conduct a randomized controlled Sequential, Multiple Assessment, Randomized Trial (SMART) design study in cLBP with the following three aims. Aim 1: Perform an interventional response phenotyping study in a cohort of cLBP patients (n = 400), who will receive a sequence of interventions known to be effective in cLBP. For 4 weeks, all cLBP participants will receive a web-based pain self-management program as part of a run-in period, then individuals who report no or minimal improvement will be randomized to: a) mindfulness-based stress reduction, b) physical therapy and exercise, c) acupressure self-management, and d) duloxetine. After 8 weeks, individuals who remain symptomatic will be re-randomized to a different treatment for an additional 8 weeks. Using those data, we will identify the subsets of participants that respond to each treatment. In Aim 2, we will show that currently available, clinically derived measures, can predict differential responsiveness to the treatments. In Aim 3, a subset of participants will receive deeper phenotyping (n = 160), to identify new experimental measures that predict differential responsiveness to the treatments, as well as to infer mechanisms of action. Deep phenotyping will include functional neuroimaging, quantitative sensory testing, measures of inflammation, and measures of autonomic tone.

Theoretical Schemas to Guide Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Chronic Low Back Pain Clinical Research.

BACKGROUND: Chronic low back pain (cLBP) is a complex with a heterogenous clinical presentation. A better understanding of the factors that contribute to cLBP is needed for accurate diagnosis, optimal treatment, and identification of mechanistic targets for new therapies. The Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program provides a unique opportunity in this regard, as it will generate large clinical datasets, including a diverse set of harmonized measurements. The Theoretical Model Working Group was established to guide BACPAC research and to organize new knowledge within a mechanistic framework. This article summarizes the initial work of the Theoretical Model Working Group. It includes a three-stage integration of expert opinion and an umbrella literature review of factors that affect cLBP severity and chronicity. METHODS: During Stage 1, experts from across BACPAC established a taxonomy for risk and prognostic factors (RPFs) and preliminary graphical depictions. During Stage 2, a separate team conducted a literature review according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to establish working definitions, associated data elements, and overall strength of evidence for identified RPFs. These were subsequently integrated with expert opinion during Stage 3. RESULTS: The majority (∼80%) of RPFs had little strength-of-evidence confidence, whereas seven factors had substantial confidence for either a positive association with cLBP (pain-related anxiety, serum C-reactive protein, diabetes, and anticipatory/compensatory postural adjustments) or no association with cLBP (serum interleukin 1-beta / interleukin 6, transversus muscle morphology/activity, and quantitative sensory testing). CONCLUSION: This theoretical perspective will evolve over time as BACPAC investigators link empirical results to theory, challenge current ideas of the biopsychosocial model, and use a systems approach to develop tools and algorithms that disentangle the dynamic interactions among cLBP factors.

The impact of nociplastic pain features on the response to physical therapy in patients with primary myofascial pain.

BACKGROUND: Myofascial pain is a common, but poorly understood multifactorial condition. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzed how the degree of central sensitization (nociplastic pain) can impact the response to physical therapy for patients with myofascial pain. METHODS: This prospective, observational cohort study compared pain phenotyping and functional measures in 30 participants with non-acute neck/shoulder girdle primary myofascial pain following 3-months of physical therapy. The Fibromyalgia Survey Questionnaire Score served as a surrogate of central sensitization. RESULTS: All participants demonstrated some benefit from physical therapy; however, those with moderate levels of nociplastic pain features were less likely to have clinically significant improvements on the Neck Disability Index, PEG score, or pain catastrophizing measures. Those with higher levels of nociplastic pain had a similar chance of showing improvement as those with lower levels, except regarding catastrophizing. Significant improvements were independent of the type or amount of therapy received. CONCLUSION: The degree of nociplastic pain in patients with myofascial pain appears to be inversely related to improvements from a peripherally based treatment. This is not to say that individuals with moderate to higher levels of nociplastic pain do not benefit from physical therapy, but they proportionally benefit less.

Interventional and Non-interventional Medical Rehabilitation Approaches to Axial Spine Pain in Vertebral Metastatic Disease.

As targeted therapies help patients with advanced cancer live longer, interventions for management of axial spine pain will become more common. Unfortunately, the indications for and safety of these procedures have been relatively unexplored compared with non-cancer adults. This review focuses on the following aspects of axial spine pain management in patients with vertebral metastatic disease: (1) pathophysiology and symptoms of cancer- and non-cancer-related spine pain; (2) safety and efficacy of non-interventional rehabilitation approaches to treat this pain; (3) considerations for interventional pain approaches to acute and chronic pain in patients with vertebral metastatic disease. This review also summarizes gaps in the literature and describes specific cases in which the described interventions have been applied.

The Effects of a Pain Psychology and Neuroscience Self-Evaluation Internet Intervention: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVES: Many patients' chronic musculoskeletal pain is strongly influenced by central nervous system processes such as sensitization or amplification. Education about pain neuroscience can change patients' beliefs but has less consistent effects on pain outcomes. Patients may have greater clinical benefits if the educational intervention is personalized, and they evaluate various psychosocial risk factors with respect to their pain. We developed and tested a brief, internet-based Pain Psychology and Neuroscience (PPN) self-evaluation intervention. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From a patient registry, 104 adults reporting chronic musculoskeletal pain were randomized to the PPN intervention or a matched, active, education control condition. At baseline and 1-month (primary endpoint) and 10-month follow-ups, participants reported pain severity (primary outcome) and multiple secondary outcomes. Primary analyses compared the 2 experimental conditions using analyses of covariances; post hoc exploratory analyses compared the effects of PPN in subgroups of patients who met criteria for fibromyalgia (FM; n=50) or who did not (n=54; primarily spinal pain). RESULTS: At 1-month follow-up, compared with the control condition, PPN led to significantly lower pain severity (ηp =0.05) and interference (ηp =0.04), greater brain (ηp =0.07) and psychological (ηp =0.07) attributions for pain, and greater readiness for pain self-management (ηp =0.08). Effects on distress, pain catastrophizing, kinesiophobia, and life satisfaction were not significant. Exploratory analyses showed that the PPN intervention was especially beneficial for patients without FM but was of less benefit for those with FM. Most of the effects (except attributions) were lost at 10 months. DISCUSSION: A brief PPN self-evaluation intervention, presented on-line, can yield short-term improvements in musculoskeletal pain severity and interference, especially for people with spinal/localized pain rather than FM, perhaps because the psychology/neuroscience perspective is more novel for such patients.

Initial validation of the electronic form of the Michigan Body Map.

BACKGROUND: The Michigan Body Map (MBM) was developed to assess pain location in a reliable and valid manner; however, electronic formats have not been validated. This study had two aims: (1) initial validation of the electronic form of the MBM (eMBM) and (2) preliminary test of assessing pain severity within body zones. METHODS: For the first aim, 68 participants with chronic pain completed paper and electronic forms of the MBM, then underwent scripted interviews to assess preferences among body maps and verbal confirmation of pain locations. For the second aim, a subset of the participants (n=40) completed the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) pain severity subscale, as well as the eMBM again and endorsed pain severity using additional screens showing body zones that contained areas in which pain was endorsed. RESULTS: There were few discrepancies between MBM, eMBM and verbal report (1.9% and 1.6%, respectively), and no difference between forms in perceived ability to indicate areas of pain or ease of completion. Patients accurately indicated their bodily pain on both maps, with 84% and 87% reporting one or no errors on MBM and eMBM, respectively. Participants also reported no preference for which version best-depicted areas of pain or best distinguished left from right. Lastly, the most preferred measure was eMBM with pain severity zones, followed by eMBM without zones, followed by the BPI pain severity subscale. CONCLUSIONS: These data support the validity of the eMBM for patients with chronic pain. Further, an expanded form of the eMBM that assesses pain severity was preferred by most participants.

Clinical predictors of the medical interventions provided to patients with low back pain in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain is a common complaint in emergency departments (ED), where deviations from standard of care have been noted. OBJECTIVE: To relate the ordering of advanced imaging and opioid prescriptions with the presentation of low back pain in ED. METHODS: Six hundred adults with low back pain from three centers were prospectively analyzed for history, examination, diagnosis, and the ordering of tests and treatments. RESULTS: Of 559 cases the onset of pain was less than one week in 79.2%; however, most had prior low back pain, 63.5% having warning signs of a potential serious condition, and 83.9% had psychosocial risk factors. Computer tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were ordered in 16.6%, opioids were prescribed in 52.6%, and hospital admission in 4.5%. A one-year follow-up of 158 patients found 40.8% received subsequent spine care and 5.1% had a medically serious condition. Caucasian race, age 50 years or older, warning signs, and radicular findings were associated with advanced imaging. Severe pain and psychosocial factors were associated with opioid prescribing. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients present to the ED with acute exacerbations of chronic low back pain. Risk factors for a serious condition are common, but rarely do they develop. Racial disparities and psychosocial factors had concerning relationships with clinical decision-making.

Interventional Spine Considerations for Dural Ectasia in a Patient With Marfan Syndrome.

For patients with Marfan syndrome who present with radicular low back pain, interventional spine providers should be familiar with dural ectasia with variable diffuse thinning of the posterior wall of the lumbar spine and sacrum. Providers should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of offering elective procedures because altered anatomy may put these patients at higher risk of dural puncture. Patient selection is essential because hydrostatic pressures and/or neural tension should also be considered as potential pain generators that may not be relieved by steroid injections. Careful evaluation of recent magnetic resonance images and vigilant procedural technique is highly recommended.

Osteopathic approach to sacroiliac dysfunction in a patient with steroid myopathy: case report and literature review.

Long-term steroid use has a well-documented risk of myopathy that imposes functional limitations for patients and challenges for health care providers. Proximal weakness from steroid myopathy affects support structures around the pelvic girdle and likely predisposes patients to somatic dysfunction. To the authors' knowledge, there are no prior reports in the literature that describe an osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) approach for patients with steroid myopathy. In the present case report, a 59-year-old woman with acute myeloid leukemia received a blood stem cell transplantation and developed gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease. High-dose steroids were prescribed, and she developed proximal weakness from steroid myopathy. The patient's acute inpatient rehabilitation was impacted by new onset left sacroiliac dysfunction. A patient-focused OMM approach was used to assist the patient in maximizing her sacroiliac function. The proximal weakness seen with steroid myopathy necessitates special considerations for an OMM approach to address somatic dysfunction associated with this disease.