The Global Year against Neuropathic Pain

e-news Somatosens Pain, 2020

But why should I use this Atlas instead of using a conventional anatomy book? It is the result of a survey of more than 3,000 patients in 15 years of study. The authors crossed all the assessed maps of the tactile hypoesthetic territories (aesthe-siographies) with data published in nearly 100 other anatomy books. Each anatomical plate of a cutaneous branch is the overlap of hundreds of obser-vations in clinical practice. The crucial step of recognizing and naming the injured cutaneous nerve branches is extremely im-portant for the good treatment of patients - including to be refered at the right moment, at the right place. In fact, I can only deal with what I know

Douleurs neuropathiques, 2017

La troisième édition de l’Atlas des territoires cutanés pour le diagnostic des douleurs neuropathiques vient de paraître chez Sauramps Médical. Les deux premières avaient été préfacées par Bernard Moxham (Cardiff, Royaume-Uni) et par Stephen Carmichael (Rochester, États-Unis), celle-ci l’a été par John Fraher (Cork, Irlande). À partir de 2519 patients et des données de 97 ouvrages d’anatomie consultés, les auteurs définissent les territoires cutanés des nerfs spinaux et de leurs branches principales en précisant les bornes limitrophes de leur territoire maximal de distribution, et leur territoire autonome, qu’elles ne partagent avec aucun autre nerf.

e-News Somatosens Rehab, 2018

Because big randomized controlled trials cost a lot to run, it was important for us to be sure there was some evidence to support going ahead with a big study, even if that evidence can only be considered low to moderate strength right now. One of the strengths of this study was that we included all the records, even people who dropped out of treatment. Another strength of this study was everyone had been screened using the Budapest criteria, so we were confident every record we reviewed represented a person with CRPS. This study became part of my PhD thesis at McMaster University on advancing rehabilitation for complex regional pain syndrome.

e-News Somatosens Rehab, 2017

Imagine that you are a therapist. A young woman has just arrived in the waiting room of your clinic while you are treating another patient. You notice that she is wearing a splint on her left hand and holding her left arm in a protective manner. At that moment, you remember that she is under investigation for a complaint of pain in her left hand. You also remember reading in her medical record that she is twenty-three years old and had a high-speed car accident in which she sustained a displaced fracture of the distal end of the radius five months ago. The fracture was treated with a cast below the elbow. Two weeks after the accident, she complained of numbness in her hand, along the ulnar border. After removing the cast, eight weeks post-injury, she still complained of pain in her hand.

e-News Somatosens Rehab, 2017

Clinicians and researchers work hand in hand to investigate and understand functions und dysfunctions of pain. So could we dream of a life without pain ? Certainly not, when it comes to its function as a necessary protection mechanisms that accompanies us through our development. But when it comes to pain that becomes a conqueror who invades our bodies we dare to dream of a life without it.

e-News Somatosens Rehab, 2016

Pain is a signal and the information coming from the patient is it’s analyse. Allodynia is the definition of the phenomenon where the stimulation is different from the one we thought we would provoke a pain at that level. To paraphrase Rimbaud (a famous French poet), « My pain is another » ! If the physiological phenomenon is better known, the treatment is still a hazardous road for the therapist.

e-News Somatosens Rehab, 2018

Holly J Guesteditorial Does technology such as virtual reality have a role in the treatment of pain?

Presse médicale (Paris, France : 1983), 2008

Neurostimulation of neuropathic pain is based on surgical implantation of devices for several types of neuromodulatory treatment (stimulation of the spinal cord, cortex, deep brain or thalamus, or occiput). Spinal cord stimulation is a recognized treatment, with a high level of proof. It is effective in 70 or 80% of appropriately selected cases. Cortical stimulation is effective in 50 to 70% of cases but should be performed only in several specialized centers. Thalamic stimulation, with its efficacy rate of only 30 to 50%, should be reserved for patients for whom the preceding techniques have failed.

e-News Somatosens Rehab, 2018

Who has never suffered from pain? It does not matter if this pain was physical or emotional. Oh God, and how difficult it is to describe it! Many times the people around us do not seem to understand the extent of our pain. And this is legitimate. Each one interprets his/her pain according to his/her own threshold of pain, but also, in relation to previous experiences of pain. These experiences are either from situations we have lived ourselves or from the observation of the suffering of others.

e-News Somatosens Rehab, 2018

The goal of the somatosensory rehabilitation approach is to translate the theory of adaptive neuroplasticity into practice and to yield solid evidence of treatment efficacy. However, there is always a long way to go from concept to practice. “How to communicate and reach an agreement among team members, including doctors, other therapists, and patients?”, “How to motivate patients to adhere to treatment, as it is relatively a long treatment process?”, “How to convince the insurer to support the patient’s treatment?” They are all predictable obstacles faced to the therapists. Eva admits that this approach cannot be effective if the therapist only works within her own corner. One of the remarks made during the course: be an agent of change echoed in the whole class. With this new approach, what we learn is not only a treatment method; more importantly, it can shape our thoughts about pain.