Do we need a third mechanistic descriptor for chronic pain states?
Two articles on PainSci cite Kosek 2016: 1. The 3 Basic Types of Pain 2. A Rational Guide to Fibromyalgia
PainSci notes on Kosek 2016:
There is currently no formal classification pain that arises from dysfunction of the nervous system, as opposed to damage to it, or damage to other tissues. Serious disease like fibromyalgia and complex regional pain syndrome are in taxonomic limbo. This interesting paper explores the problem and proposes some solutions. Although it’s fairly readable as scientific papers go, I have covered the same concepts in a much more accessible article: The 3 Basic Types of Pain: Nociceptive, neuropathic, and “other” (and then some more).
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
The redefinition of neuropathic pain, which specifically excludes the concept of “dysfunction,” has left a large group of patients without a valid pathophysiological descriptor for their experience of pain. This group comprises people who have neither obvious activation of nociceptors nor neuropathy (defined as disease or damage of the somatosensory system) but in whom clinical and psychophysical findings suggest altered nociceptive function. Typical such patient groups include those labelled as having fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type 1, other instances of “musculoskeletal” pain (such as “nonspecific” chronic low-back pain), and “functional” visceral pain disorders (such as irritable bowel syndrome, bladder pain syndrome). The aim of this topical review was to propose, for debate, a third mechanistic descriptor intended for chronic pain characterized by altered nociceptive function.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Photobiomodulation therapy is not better than placebo in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Guimarães 2021 Pain.
- No effect of creatine monohydrate supplementation on inflammatory and cartilage degradation biomarkers in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Cornish 2018 Nutr Res.
- The CANBACK trial: a randomised, controlled clinical trial of oral cannabidiol for people presenting to the emergency department with acute low back pain. Bebee 2021 Med J Aust.
- Relationships Between Sleep Quality and Pain-Related Factors for People with Chronic Low Back Pain: Tests of Reciprocal and Time of Day Effects. Gerhart 2017 Ann Behav Med.
- Modulation in the elastic properties of gastrocnemius muscle heads in individuals with plantar fasciitis and its relationship with pain. Zhou 2020 Sci Rep.