(Chief Assistant, Department of Chronic Rheumatism at the West London Hospital, and at the Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth.) Muscular rheumatism is probably the commonest ailment that affects mankind, yet in spite of its ubiquity little really scientific work has been done on the subject until recently, and almost nothing is known about its pathology. In the last few years certain aspect...

INTRODUCTION Musculoskeletal pain is one of the most frequent complaints among teachers, compromising their health and quality of life. OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain among teachers, assessing their occurrence according to sociodemographic characteristics, general health and well-being at work. METHODS An exploratory cross-sectional study conducted with 525 tea...

The practical points in the differential diagnosis of the various acute painful conditions of the ear are not clearly mentioned in textbooks on the subject, and hence the following lines are meant to point out very briefly the important distinguishing features in their diagnosis. It is best to divide them into acute painful conditions of the external, middle and internal ear, and to referred pa...

BACKGROUND Background: Actinic keratosis is a frequently-encountered premalignant lesion occurring in areas exposed to sunlight in fair-skinned elderly or middle-aged people. Cryosurgery with liquid nitrogen is the most common method for treating the lesions. OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this study was to measure the intensity of pain during cryosurgery by using the Visual Analog Scale...

[1] Bogduk N. On the definitions and physiology of back pain, referred, pain and radicular pain. Pain 2009;147:17–9. [2] Bogduk N. A cure for back pain? Pain 2010;149:7–8. [3] McGuirk B, Bogduk N. Evidence-based care for low back pain in workers eligible for compensation. Occup Med 2007;57:36–42. [4] McGuirk B, King W, Govind J, Lowry J, Bogduk N. The safety efficacy, and costeffectiveness of e...

BACKGROUND Several authors have postulated that cervical instability is a major cause of traumatic spinal pain. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this prospective case series study (n = 6) was to determine if proliferant injections have an effect on cervical translation as measured by a blinded reader. DESIGN This study was a prospective case series. Study participants were selected from patients se...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the global burden of low back pain (LBP). METHODS LBP was defined as pain in the area on the posterior aspect of the body from the lower margin of the twelfth ribs to the lower glutaeal folds with or without pain referred into one or both lower limbs that lasts for at least one day. Systematic reviews were performed of the prevalence, incidence, remission, duration, and ...

This study examines the psychological characteristics of a cohort of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and persisting pain referred to a tertiary pain management center. Forty-five individuals completed measures of pain, mood, disability, and both pain- and SCI-related psychological variables such as self-efficacy and catastrophizing. Compared with a general pain clinic population atten...

BACKGROUND Women with endometriosis are frequently misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) for some time before a correct diagnosis is made. Visceral hypersensitivity is a key feature in both conditions. AIMS To determine if there are distinct symptom patterns in women with IBS and endometriosis, and to determine the response of these women to a low FODMAP diet in comparison to those...

Chronic musculoskeletal pain has biological, psychological and social components. This review deals with the biological factors, with emphasis on the fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Studies on central sensitization of pain-transmitting neurons, changes in endogenous pain modulation that give rise to pain disinhibition, referred pain, pain-related decrease in muscle strength and endurance, and pain...