View clinical trials related to Central Sensitization.
Filter by:Pain is one of the most important and challenging symptoms in cancer patients. Depending on the stage of cancer, approximately 40% to 70% of patients complain of pain. With the increasing lifespan of cancer patients due to developing treatments, pain palliation has become even more crucial to improve their quality of life. Cancer-related pain can develop through multiple mechanisms such as the tumor itself, metastasis, or the methods used in treatment. The type of pain can be nociceptive, neuropathic, or mixed. Central sensitization refers to the increased response of central nervous system nociceptive neurons to normal or subthreshold stimuli. Recently, central sensitization (CS) has been recognized as a potential pathophysiological mechanism underlying a group of chronic pain diseases such as fibromyalgia, temporomandibular joint disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis, tension-type headache, and chronic low back pain. Since pain perception varies from person to person, physicians should assess the character of pain thoroughly and not rely solely on peripheral pain treatment in cases with a component of central sensitization. The lack of evaluation of the extent to which central sensitization affects patients and the failure to fully determine the factors influencing it appear to be clinical limitations for now. There are studies suggesting that central sensitization may be a significant factor in chronic refractory pain in cancer patients, indicating the need for consideration of alternative options to classical treatments. To the best of our knowledge, no study has been conducted in Turkey to investigate the frequency of central sensitization and its impact on treatment outcomes in chronic cancer pain patients visiting outpatient clinics. The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency of central sensitization and its effect on pain and quality of life in chronic cancer pain patients attending algology clinics in multiple centers in Turkey.
This pilot study aims to evaluate the integration of virtual reality (VR) with a psychoeducational program for individuals experiencing chronic pain and central sensitization. Chronic pain significantly hampers daily life, and the condition of central sensitization intensifies this challenge by making the pain more acute. Our research is grounded in the hypothesis that VR, when used to complement conventional psychoeducational methods, can enhance engagement and understanding of pain management strategies, thus potentially improving patient outcomes. Key objectives and related measured variables include: Usability and Feasibility: Evaluated through the System Usability Scale (SUS) responses from both participants and healthcare professionals, assessing the ease of use and integration of VR into the psychoeducational program. Participant Engagement and Program Adherence: Determined by participants' satisfaction with the VR system, using Likert scale questionnaires, and tracked through session attendance and program completion rates. Impact on Chronic Pain Management and Emotional Well-being: Assessed through changes in the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) collected at baseline, post-intervention, and 4-8 weeks follow-up Self-management of Chronic Pain: Monitored through the Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) and changes in patient functionality and mobility using the EuroQol-5D-5L scale, measured at baseline, post-intervention, and 4-8 weeks follow-up. Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions: Investigated using SUS scores and qualitative feedback on the applicability and benefits of VR in clinical practice for chronic pain management. Participants will complete eight 90-minute sessions, engaging with VR to supplement the program's content. This approach aims to provide immersive experiences that deepen the understanding and management of chronic pain. Participant feedback on the VR experience, alongside observed changes in pain management and overall well-being, will be critically examined. By targeting individuals suffering from chronic pain, this research aims to offer healthcare professionals an innovative tool for enhancing pain management strategies. Integrating VR into psychoeducational content, the study seeks to promote more engaging and effective learning experiences, potentially leading to improved outcomes in chronic pain management.
Central sensitization (CS) is defined as the increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system to normal or subthreshold afferent input. CS has been proposed as an underlying mechanism of chronic pain in musculoskeletal disorders including low back pain (LBP). The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of manual therapy on central sensitization in patients with nonspecific chronic LBP.
This study that has the following goals: a) To systematically characterize symptomatology of patients with PTLS by conducting multimodal sensory and neurocognitive assessments and comparing patients with PTLS to healthy controls and to identify biomarkers associated with chronic pain and sensory hypersensitivity among patients with PTLS, c) To investigate whether pharmacologic treatment with milnacipran is associated with clinical improvement chronic pain and physical functioning and with specific changes both in the cerebral and ventricular neurochemistry and in the neural activation patterns d) To investigate whether augmentation with a glutamatergic agent (D-cycloserine) can increase the pain -alleviating effect of an SNRI agent (milnacipran) among patients with PTLS First, patients with chronic PTLS pain and healthy controls will carefully assessed and compared on the brain imaging measures, sensory battery, neuropsychologic tests, and immune markers. After this extensive clinical and neural markers assessment, patients with PTLS and chronic pain will be randomized to (i) 12 weeks of milnacipran +d-cycloserine augmentation, or (ii) 12 weeks of milnacipran + placebo augmentation. Milnacipran (an SNRI) reduces both pain and depression and was shown in previos studies to reduce pain in fibromyalgia. D-Cycloserine (as a glutamate modulator) as a SNRI adjunct was shown to further reduce depression and in animal models to reduce pain. Primary outcome measure will be improvement in pain on visual analog scale, physical functioning and quality of life. All patients will undergo sensory, immune, glycine, self-reports, neuropsychologic testing, and neural markers assessments pre- and post-treatment.
This study evaluates nervous system hypersensitivity in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and experiences of ongoing musculoskeletal (MSK) pain. Previous results and current literature suggest that MSK pain in IBD may be influenced by hypersensitivity of the central nervous system, termed central sensitization. However, specific mechanisms contributing to pain experiences are unknown. Therefore, primary aims are to explore aspects of central sensitization through sensory testing in this population, and to investigate association of psychological and IBD features to sensory profiles. This study hypothesizes that IBD patients with MSK pain will demonstrate altered sensory function, and IBD/psychosocial features will be associated with altered sensory functioning and worse pain experiences.
Nowadays obesity is emerging as a very common health problem. It has been shown in various studies that obesity may be an important risk factor for the onset and progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of this study is to determine the effects of bariatric surgery on knee pain, loss of function, quality of life and central sensitization.
Fibromyalgia pain syndrome is a common debilitating condition which associates mainly generalised pain, emotional distress and cognitive symptoms. The etiology is unknown, and no specific treatment exists so far. Lately, shock-waves have been used successfully to treat painful skeletal muscle, tendons and fascia, the investigators therefore hypothesize that shock-waves could be useful in alleviating Fibromyalgia pain. Two similar groups of participants bearing the condition will be prospectively compared. The first group will benefit from the application of shock-waves weekly for 12 weeks, the second will not. The investigators intend to study if there is any difference in pain and quality of life between the two groups at the end of the three months.
Carbetocin is a synthetic analogue of the hormone Oxytocin and is routinely used in obstetric anesthesiology to control uterine bleeding after cesarean section. As an incidental finding, women who received carbetocin had less pain after cesarean section than women who had received Oxytocin. Carbetocin may therefore have an analgesic effect. The present study examines this analgesic effect using different sensory tests, e.g. pressure, heat, cold and electrical pain before and after administration of carbetocin in healthy male volunteers. Any changes in these sensory tests might be indicative of an analgesic property of carbetocin.
The primary goal of this study is to examine the effects of limiting complaints on pain and pain catastrophizing (PC) in individuals with low back pain (LBP) who are in a state of central sensitization (CS). The study will be performed on individuals who have LBP and are in a state of CS. CS is classified as a type of pain which has the following dominant features: pain that is disproportionate to the nature or extent of injury/pathology; disproportionate, non-mechanical, unpredictable pattern of pain provocation in response to aggravating/easing factors; strong association with maladaptive psychological factors ; diffuse/non-anatomic areas of pain/tenderness to palpation. These criterion have been demonstrated to have discriminative validity for diagnosing CS.