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Song S, Fang Y, Wan X, Shen L, Hu Y, Lu C, Yue T, Chen L, Chen J, Xue M. Changes of regional brain activity following Tuina therapy for patients with painful cervical spondylosis: a resting-state fMRI study. Front Neurol 2024; 15:1399487. [PMID: 39346767 PMCID: PMC11428409 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1399487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 08/26/2024] [Indexed: 10/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The effectiveness of Tuina therapy has been confirmed in treating pain of patients with cervical spondylosis (CS), however, its therapeutic mechanism is still unclear. This study aimed to observe the changes of regional brain activity following Tuina therapy in patients with painful CS based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data. Methods A total of 27 patients with CS and 27 healthy subjects (HCs) were enrolled in this study. All patients received Tuina therapy every 2 days for 2 weeks. The clinical manifestations of patients were evaluated by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Neck Disability Index (NDI) before and after treatment. In addition, rs-fMRI data were collected and preprocessed in all patients before and after treatment, as well as HCs. HCs underwent a 1-time rs-fMRI scan, whereas CS patients underwent 2-times of rs-fMRI scan. The measure of regional homogeneity (ReHo) was calculated and compared between groups. Finally, relationships between altered brain regions and clinical characteristics were evaluated by Pearson's correlation analysis. Results After Tuina therapy, VAS and NDI scores of patients decreased. Before treatment, CS patients showed higher ReHo values in the left middle temporal gyrus, left thalamus, right anterior and posterior cingulate gyrus, left inferior parietal gyrus and lower ReHo values in the right gyrus rectus when compared with HCs. After treatment, CS patients exhibited higher ReHo values in the left inferior temporal gyrus, right anterior and posterior cingulate gyrus, left inferior parietal gyrus and lower ReHo values in the right rectus gyrus when compared with HCs. CS patients after treatment demonstrated higher ReHo values in the left inferior occipital gyrus when compared with those before treatment. Positive correlations were found between ReHo values of the right rectus gyrus and VAS, NDI scores in CS patients before treatment. Differences of VAS scores between before and after treatment were negatively correlated with ReHo values of the left inferior temporal gyrus in CS patients after treatment. Conclusion This study demonstrated the presence of asynchronous activity in certain brain regions in CS patients, which might be associated with pain and cervical spine dysfunction. Tuina therapy might modulate asynchronous activity of abnormal brain regions, which might contribute to the effectiveness of Tuina therapy in alleviating pain and cervical spine dysfunction in CS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilong Song
- Department of Tuina, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Fang
- Department of Tuina, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Xing Wan
- Department of Tuina, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Lili Shen
- Department of Tuina, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yidan Hu
- Department of Tuina, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Chao Lu
- Department of Radiology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Tao Yue
- Department of Tuina, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Lu Chen
- Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Jianhuai Chen
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Mingxin Xue
- First Clinical Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
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Zhang J, Wang H, Guo L. Investigating the brain functional abnormalities underlying pain hypervigilance in chronic neck and shoulder pain: a resting-state fMRI study. Neuroradiology 2024; 66:1353-1361. [PMID: 38296904 DOI: 10.1007/s00234-024-03286-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE To investigate pain hypervigilance in individuals suffering from chronic neck and shoulder pain (CNSP) and its underlying brain mechanism. METHODS The evaluation of pain vigilance was conducted through the utilization of pain vigilance and awareness questionnaires. Voxel-wise regional homogeneity (ReHo) from 60 CNSP patients and 60 healthy controls (HCs) using resting-state fMRI data. Voxel-wise two-sample T-test was conducted to reveal the ReHo variations between CNSP and HC. Correlation analyses were utilized to reveal the connection between brain abnormalities and medical measurements. Furthermore, a mediation analysis was conducted to elucidate the pathway-linking changes in brain function with medical measurements. RESULTS Our present study revealed three main findings. Firstly, patients with CSNP demonstrated a heightened vigilance of pain in comparison to healthy adults, a common occurrence among individuals with chronic pain conditions. Secondly, we observed brain abnormalities in various brain regions in CSNP patients, and these alterations were associated with the extent of pain vigilance. Lastly, the pain hypervigilance impact on the severity of pain was found to be controlled by regional neural activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in subjects with CSNP. CONCLUSION Our findings suggested that long-term repetitive nociceptive input caused by chronic pain further aggravates the pain intensity by impairing the vigilance-related pain processing within the anterior cingulate cortex in CNSP patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiyang Zhang
- Radiology Department, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, People's Republic of China
| | - Hao Wang
- Radiology Department, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Guo
- Radiology Department, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, People's Republic of China.
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Murillo C, López-Sola M, Cagnie B, Suñol M, Smeets RJEM, Coppieters I, Cnockaert E, Meeus M, Timmers I. Gray Matter Adaptations to Chronic Pain in People with Whiplash-Associated Disorders are Partially Reversed After Treatment: A Voxel-based Morphometry Study. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2024; 25:104471. [PMID: 38232862 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2024.01.336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
Gray matter (GM) changes are often observed in people with chronic spinal pain, including those with chronic whiplash-associated disorders (CWAD). These GM adaptations may be reversed with treatment, at least partially. Pain neuroscience education combined with exercise (PNE+Exercise) is an effective treatment, but its neural underlying mechanisms still remain unexplored in CWAD. Here, we performed both cross-sectional and longitudinal voxel-based morphometry to 1) identify potential GM alterations in people with CWAD (n = 63) compared to age- and sex-matched pain-free controls (n = 32), and 2) determine whether these GM alterations might be reversed following PNE+Exercise (compared to conventional physiotherapy). The cross-sectional whole-brain analysis revealed that individuals with CWAD had less GM volume in the right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left inferior temporal gyrus which was, in turn, associated with higher pain vigilance. Fifty individuals with CWAD and 29 pain-free controls were retained in the longitudinal analysis. GM in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex increased after treatment in people with CWAD. Moreover, the longitudinal whole-brain analysis revealed that individuals with CWAD had decreases in GM volumes of the left and right central operculum and supramarginal after treatment. These changes were not specific to treatment modality and some were not observed in pain-free controls over time. Herewith, we provide the first evidence on how GM adaptations to CWAD respond to treatment. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents which gray matter adaptations are present in people with chronic pain after whiplash injuries. Then, we examine the treatment effect on these alterations as well as whether other neuroplastic effects on GM following treatment occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Murillo
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Marina López-Sola
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Spain
| | - Barbara Cagnie
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - María Suñol
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rob J E M Smeets
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Science, Maastricht University, the Netherlands
| | - Iris Coppieters
- Laboratory for Brain-Gut Axis Studies (LaBGAS), Department of chronic diseases and metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Belgium; Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
| | - Elise Cnockaert
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Mira Meeus
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium; MOVANT research group, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, University of Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Inge Timmers
- Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium; Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Science, Maastricht University, the Netherlands; Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, the Netherlands
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Tian A, Gao H, Wang Z, Li N, Ma J, Guo L, Ma X. Brain structural correlates of postoperative axial pain in degenerative cervical myelopathy patients following posterior cervical decompression surgery: a voxel-based morphometry study. BMC Med Imaging 2023; 23:136. [PMID: 37726693 PMCID: PMC10507911 DOI: 10.1186/s12880-023-01057-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the brain structural correlates of postoperative axial pain (PAP) in degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) following posterior cervical decompression surgery. METHODS Structural images with high-resolution T1 weighting were collected from 62 patients with DCM and analyzed, in addition to 42 age/gender matched subjects who were healthy. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was analyzed, grey matter volume (GMV) was computed. One-way ANOVA was performed to reveal the GMV differences among DCM patients with PAP, patients without PAP and healthy controls (HC). Post-hoc analyses were conducted to identify the pair-wise GMV differences among these three groups. Analyses of correlations were conducted to uncover the link between clinical measurements and GMV variations. Last, support vector machine (SVM) was conducted to test the utility of GMV for classifying PAP and nPAP DCM patients. RESULTS Three main findings were observed: [1] Compared to healthy controls, DCM patients showed a significantly lower GMV in the precuneus preoperatively. DCM patients with PAP also exhibited a lower GMV within precuneus than those without; [2] In DCM patients with PAP, the precuneus GMV was inversely related to the postoperative pain intensity; [3] Moreover, successful classification between PAP and nPAP were observed via SVM based on precuneus GMV as features. CONCLUSION In summary, our results indicate that precuneus GMV may be linked to PAP in DCM, and could be employed to forecast the emergence of PAP in DCM patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aixian Tian
- Orthopedic Research Institute, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, P. R. China
| | - Hongzhi Gao
- Radiology Department, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, P. R. China
| | - Zhan Wang
- Orthopedic Research Institute, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, P. R. China
| | - Na Li
- Orthopedic Research Institute, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, P. R. China
| | - Jianxiong Ma
- Orthopedic Research Institute, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, P. R. China
| | - Lin Guo
- Radiology Department, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, P. R. China.
| | - Xinlong Ma
- Orthopedic Research Institute, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin University, Jiefang Nan Road 406, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, P. R. China.
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Li T, Li J, Zhao R, Zhou J, Chu X. Deficits in the thalamocortical pathway associated with hypersensitivity to pain in patients with frozen shoulder. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1180873. [PMID: 37265462 PMCID: PMC10229835 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1180873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background and purpose Frozen shoulder (FS) is a chronic pain condition and has been shown to be associated with pain sensitization. However, the underyling brain mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we aimed to explore brain alterations and their association with pain sensitization in patients with FS. Materials and methods A total of 54 FS patients and 52 healthy controls (HCs) were included in this study. Here, we applied both structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to investigate brain abnormalities in FS patients. Voxel-wise comparisons were performed to reveal the differences in the gray matter volume (GMV) and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) between FS patients and HCs. Furthermore, the region of interest (ROI) to whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) was calculated and compared between groups. Finally, Pearson's correlation coefficients were computed to reveal the association between clinical data and brain alterations. Results Four main findings were observed: (1) FS patients exhibited decreased thalamus GMV, which correlated with pain intensity and pain threshold; (2) relative to HCs, FS patients exhibited a higher level of ALFF within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the thalamus; (3) FS patients exhibited a significant increase in Tha-S1 FC compared to HCs; and (4) the effect of thalamus GMV on pain intensity was mediated by pain threshold in FS patients. Conclusion The dysfunctional thalamus might induce pain hypersensitivity, which further aggravates the pain in FS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tengshuai Li
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jie Li
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Rui Zhao
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Jiaming Zhou
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Xu Chu
- Department of Orthopaedics, Honghui Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xian, China
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Orzeszek S, Waliszewska-Prosol M, Ettlin D, Seweryn P, Straburzynski M, Martelletti P, Jenca A, Wieckiewicz M. Efficiency of occlusal splint therapy on orofacial muscle pain reduction: a systematic review. BMC Oral Health 2023; 23:180. [PMID: 36978070 PMCID: PMC10053140 DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-02897-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This systematic review aims to examine the existing original studies to determine the effectiveness of occlusal splints (OSs) in the management of orofacial myalgia and myofascial pain (MP) in comparison with no treatment or other interventions. MATERIALS AND METHODS Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of this systematic review, randomized controlled trials were qualified, in which the effectiveness of occlusal splint therapy in the management of muscle pain was examined in comparison with no treatment or other interventions. This systematic review was conducted according to the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis 2020. The authors searched three databases (PubMed, CINAHL (The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) and Scopus) for English publications published between January 1, 2010, and June 1, 2022. The last database search was carried out on June 4, 2022. Data were extracted from the included studies and assessed for risk of bias using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials. RESULTS Thirteen studies were identified for inclusion in this review. In total, 589 patients were diagnosed with orofacial muscle pain who underwent education and various forms of therapy including different types of OSs, light emitting diode therapy, acupuncture, low-level laser therapy, device-supported sensorimotor training, Kinesio Taping, myofunctional therapy, and physical therapy. All studies included demonstrated a high risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS There is insufficient evidence regarding whether OS therapy in the treatment of orofacial myalgia and MP offers an advantage over other forms of interventions or no treatment. Further reliable clinical studies in this area are needed to improve the quality of research, which should be performed with larger groups of blinded respondents and controls. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Due to the large-scale nature of orofacial muscle pain, it is assumed that each dental clinician will meet patients with orofacial muscle pain repeatedly in daily practice; hence, the review of the effectiveness of OSs in the management of orofacial myalgia and MP is necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylwia Orzeszek
- Department of Experimental Dentistry, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | | | - Dominik Ettlin
- Center of Dental Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Piotr Seweryn
- Department of Experimental Dentistry, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Marcin Straburzynski
- Department of Family Medicine and Infectious Diseases, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland
| | - Paolo Martelletti
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrej Jenca
- Clinic of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University Pavol Josef Safarik and Akademia Kosice, Kosice, Slovakia
| | - Mieszko Wieckiewicz
- Department of Experimental Dentistry, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
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Wang S, Su Q, Qin W, Yu C, Liang M. Both fine-grained and coarse-grained spatial patterns of neural activity measured by functional MRI show preferential encoding of pain in the human brain. Neuroimage 2023; 272:120049. [PMID: 36963739 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023] Open
Abstract
How pain emerges from human brain remains an unresolved question in pain neuroscience. Neuroimaging studies have suggested that all brain areas activated by painful stimuli were also activated by tactile stimuli, and vice versa. Nonetheless, pain-preferential spatial patterns of voxel-level activation in the brain have been observed when distinguishing painful and tactile brain activations using multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA). According to two hypotheses, the neural activity pattern preferentially encoding pain could exist at a global, coarse-grained, regional level, corresponding to the "pain connectome" hypothesis proposing that pain-preferential information may be encoded by the synchronized activity across multiple distant brain regions, and/or exist at a local, fine-grained, voxel level, corresponding to the "intermingled specialized/preferential neurons" hypothesis proposing that neurons responding specially or preferentially to pain could be present and intermingled with non-pain neurons within a voxel. Here, we systematically investigated the spatial scales of pain-distinguishing information in the human brain measured by fMRI using machine learning techniques, and found that pain-distinguishing information could be detected at both coarse-grained spatial scales across widely distributed brain regions and fine-grained spatial scales within many local areas. Importantly, the spatial distribution of pain-distinguishing information in the brain varies across individuals and such inter-individual variations may be related to a person's trait about pain perception, particularly the pain vigilance and awareness. These results provide new insights into the long-standing question of how pain is represented in the human brain and help the identification of characteristic neuroimaging measurements of pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sijia Wang
- School of Medical Technology, School of Medical Imaging, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, The Province and Ministry Cosponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China
| | - Qian Su
- Department of Molecular Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin's Clinical Research Center for China, Tianjin 300060, China
| | - Wen Qin
- Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Chunshui Yu
- School of Medical Technology, School of Medical Imaging, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, The Province and Ministry Cosponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China; Department of Radiology and Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin 300052, China
| | - Meng Liang
- School of Medical Technology, School of Medical Imaging, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Functional Imaging, The Province and Ministry Cosponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300070, China.
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