Breathing techniques are commonly used to alleviate pain. Despite their frequent use, surprisingly little is known about their efficacy as well as their underlying physiological mechanisms. The purpose of this systematic review is to summarize and critically appraise the results of existing studies on the association between respiration and pain, and to highlight a potential physiological mechanism underlying the respiration-pain connection. A total of 31 publications from between 1984 and 2015 were retrieved and analyzed. These articles were classified into 4 groups: experimental and clinical studies of the effect of pain on respiration, clinical studies of the effects of breathing techniques on pain, and experimental studies of the influence of various forms of respiration on laboratory-induced pain. The findings suggest that pain influences respiration by increasing its flow, frequency, and volume. Furthermore, paced slow breathing is associated with pain reduction in some of the studies, but evidence elucidating the underlying physiological mechanisms of this effect is lacking. Here, we focus on the potential role of the cardiovascular system on the respiratory modulation of pain. Further research is definitely warranted.
This study examined the comparative efficacy of three interventions: a spouse-assisted coping skills training protocol for patients undergoing a multidisciplinary pain management programme (SA-MPMP), conventional patient-oriented multidisciplinary pain management programme (P-MPMP) and standard medical care (SMC). Thirty-six chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients and their spouses were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions. The SA-MPMP condition consisted of seven, weekly, 2-h, group sessions of training in dyadic pain coping and couple skills, delivered by a clinical psychologist with support of a multidisciplinary team of specialists, to patients together with their spouses. P-MPMP consisted of the SA-MPMP training delivered to the patient only (i.e., no spouse participation and assistance). The SMC condition entailed continuation of routine treatment, entailing medical care only. Data analysis revealed that, at the 12-month follow-up time point, patients receiving SA-MPMP had significant improvements in kinesiophobia and rumination about pain compared to those receiving P-MPMP and SMC. In patients suffering from CLBP, an intervention that combines spouse-assisted coping skills training with a multidisciplinary pain management programme can improve fear of movement and rumination about low back pain.
These results show clear evidence that chronic pain patients do demonstrate an interpretation bias towards painful faces and that this bias is greater for those who catastrophize more and have higher levels of fear of pain, but experienced less pain in the preceding week. Given the recent potential shown for interventions that modify cognitive biases, this paradigm would seem to be well suited to future efforts to modify interpretation biases in pain.
Abstract-Peripheral neuropathy is a common complaint of diabetes. Peripheral neural damage in turn will cause balance impairments in diabetic patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of balance exercises on sway indices in diabetic patients with neuropathy. In this clinical trial study, 10 diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy were recruited through simple nonprobability sampling along with 10 nondisabled aged-matched subjects. Participants in both groups were examined for balance abilities with the Biodex Balance System before intervention. The experimental group was tested again after intervention. Intervention consisted of progressive Biodex stability and rocker and wobble-board training for 10 sessions. All tests were done in eyes open and closed conditions with bilateral standing. After intervention, the experimental group was re-examined in the same way. Student and paired t-tests were used for data analysis. The overall stability index and anterior-posterior stability index were significantly decreased after treatment in the experimental group during different conditions. Balance indices in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group before treatment. There was no significant difference in indices between the two groups after treatment. The results show that balance training can improve stability indices in diabetic patients with neuropathy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.