Characterization of chronic pain in breast cancer survivors using the McGill Pain Questionnaire

Pain catastrophising in Chinese patients with breast cancer during postoperative chemotherapy: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the pain catastrophising in patients with breast cancer during postoperative chemotherapy.

METHODS

Objective sampling method was used to select patients with breast cancer who underwent breast surgery and received chemotherapy in a third-class hospital of Wuhan from October to December 2022 through semi-structured interview. The interview data were sorted out and analysed by content analysis method.

RESULTS

A total of 11 patients were interviewed and five categories were summarised: (1) Physical memory of pain; (2) the special meaning of time; (3) disease treatment and prognosis; (4) interpersonal communication and coping; (5) personal behaviour and growth.

CONCLUSION

Patients with breast cancer have adverse pain experience during postoperative chemotherapy. The evaluation and screening of psychological variables such as pain catastrophising should be strengthened to provide new ideas for pain management.

Pain mapping and characteristics in breast cancer survivors during task-oriented training: analysis at 3, 6, and 9 months

PURPOSE

To evaluate the frequency and characteristics of trunk and upper limb pain in women diagnosed with breast cancer, in different movement planes, during task-oriented training (TOT) 3, 6, and 9 months after surgery.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study with 20 women. The body pain diagram (BPD), VAS, and McGill questionnaire were used. The TOT consisted of 20 exercises based on the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (DASH) questionnaire. BPD overlay was performed in GIMP® image editor. The chi-square test was applied to the relationship between population characteristics and pain. Freedman's ANOVA and the Cochran's Q test were used in the comparison of pain site frequencies and intensity over time.

RESULTS

In total, 297 BPDs were generated, which identified the affected upper limb as the body area with the highest frequency of pain at the three moments. However, at 9 months, the unaffected upper limb presented the same frequency as the affected limb. Radiotherapy presented a statistically significant relationship (p < 0.05) with pain at 9 months. The pain was characterized as moderate at the three moments, affective at 3 and 6 months, and sensory at 9 months.

CONCLUSION

The most frequent area of pain at 3 and 6 months was the affected upper limb however, at 9 months, the unaffected upper limb presented the same frequency of pain as the affected upper limb. Pain was characterized as moderate at the three evaluation moments.

Reminders of cancer risk and pain catastrophizing: relationships with cancer worry and perceived risk in women with a first-degree relative with breast cancer

First-degree relatives of women with breast cancer may experience increased worry or perceived risk when faced with reminders of their own cancer risk. Worry and risk reminders may include physical symptoms (e.g., persistent breast pain) and caregiving experiences. Women who engage in pain catastrophizing may be particularly likely to experience increased distress when risk reminders are present. We examined the degree to which persistent breast pain and experience as a cancer caregiver were related to cancer worry and perceived risk in first-degree relatives of women with breast cancer (N = 85) and how catastrophic thoughts about breast pain could impact these relationships. There was a significant interaction between persistent breast pain and pain catastrophizing in predicting cancer worry (p = .03); among women who engaged in pain catastrophizing, cancer worry remained high even in the absence of breast pain. Pain catastrophizing also moderated the relationships between caregiving involvement and cancer worry (p = .003) and perceived risk (p = .03). As the degree of caregiving responsibility increased, cancer worry and perceived risk increased for women who engaged in pain catastrophizing; levels of cancer worry and perceived risk remained low and stable for women who did not engage in pain catastrophizing regardless of caregiving experience. The results suggest that first-degree relatives of breast cancer survivors who engage in pain catastrophizing may experience greater cancer worry and perceived risk and may benefit from interventions aimed at reducing catastrophic thoughts about pain.

Electrical impedance of the torso is associated with the pressure pain threshold on myofascial trigger points in patients with chronic neck pain: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Myofascial trigger points are dysfunctional structures present in skeletal muscles and are related to sensory, motor, and autonomic changes. Despite scientific advances in recent decades in the measurement of musculoskeletal pain, evaluation of this clinical phenomenon is supported with instruments that, although valid and reliable, have a considerable degree of subjectivity.

OBJECTIVE

To correlate electrical impedance of the upper limbs and torso with pain intensity, functional capacity, catastrophizing, pressure pain threshold, and skin temperature on myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle of patients with neck pain.

METHODS

A single-blind cross-sectional study. Twenty-eight volunteers of both genders were included in the study, were aged 18-45 years, and had chronic neck pain and myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius. The volunteers were assessed using the Numeric Rating Scale, the Neck Disability Index, the Pain-Related Self-Statement Scale, algometry, infrared thermography, and electrical bioimpedance.

RESULTS

The following significant results were observed: a negative association between the pressure pain threshold on myofascial trigger point in the right upper trapezius and electrical impedance of the torso at 5 kHz (rs=-0.392, p= 0.032), 50 kHz (rs=-0.406, p= 0.026), 250 kHz (rs=-0.388, p= 0.034), and to the frequency 500 kHz (rs=-0.444, p= 0.014).

CONCLUSION

Electrical impedance of the torso is associated with the pressure pain threshold of myofascial trigger points on the upper trapezius of individuals with neck pain. Thus, individuals with a lower pressure pain threshold have higher electrical impedance values of the torso and vice versa.