Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland)

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women, is the most common cause of chronic pelvic pain, classically known for its nociceptive pain mechanisms. Medical therapies have limited efficacy, prevent pregnancy, and can be poorly tolerated…

INTRODUCTION: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are considered a first-line treatment for dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain). However, as much as 20% of women fail to achieve sufficient pain relief from NSAIDs, although factors asso…

Chronic pain remains a major clinical challenge, creating a need for safe, non-pharmacological interventions. This narrative mini-review examines two light-based approaches that differ in their sites of action and treatment parameters: visu…

ObjectiveChronic pain and sleep disturbances are common, interrelated conditions that substantially affect quality of life. Patients participating in interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation programs frequently report sleep problems, y…

IntroductionIsolated Mesh associated Pain Syndrome (I-MAPS) is the most common complication of continence mesh devices. The pain mechanism involved remains unknown. The aim of this study is to characterise the phenotype of women with I-MAPS…

Abdominal and pelvic pain often originates from one or more visceral organs of the gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal (pelvic floor), urinary, or reproductive systems. Over the past decade, research efforts on abdominal and pelvic pain have …

ObjectivesThe review aimed to evaluate the efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) in treating chronic pain by analyzing recent literature.Study designThis is a narrative review of relevant articles on the effectiveness of PRF for chronic p…

BACKGROUND: Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) is considered a human proxy for descending inhibitory pain pathways. However, there is wide variation in the CPM response described in the literature and ongoing debate about its utility. METHO…

BACKGROUND: Classification attempts and treatment strategies for endometriosis have been predominantly biomedical. Symptom profiles observed in individuals with endometriosis are multidimensional and may be more effectively captured by a bi…

BackgroundMenstrual pain affects 45%-95% of reproductive-age females and increases the risk of other chronic pain conditions. Psychometrically sound measurement tools are essential for advancing research and clinical care in menstrual pain.…

INTRODUCTION: Persistent pelvic pain is a prevalent condition that negatively impacts one's physical, psychological, social, and sexual wellbeing. Pain science education (PSE) involves learning about the biology of pain and is commonly inte…

IntroductionMenstrual-related pain and sleep disturbances are widespread in women experiencing premenstrual syndrome and primary dysmenorrhea. Such disturbances could be alleviated through repeated whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) sessions.…

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in relieving symptoms (dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, pelvic pain and dyschezia) intensity, improving functional disability, reducing the number of days per months of dysmenorrhea, the frequen…

Interstitial cystitis (IC) presents as a chronic pain condition with variable combinations of symptoms depending on the species and individual patient. It is diagnosed by the presence of lower urinary tract signs and symptoms in combination…

ObjectivesThis explorative study analyses interrelationships between peripheral compounds in saliva, plasma, and muscles together with body composition variables in healthy subjects and in fibromyalgia patients (FM). There is a need to bett…

Specific aimProvide an overview of the literature addressing major areas pertinent to pain in transgender persons and to identify areas of primary relevance for future research.MethodsA team of scholars that have previously published on dif…

Our mental representation of our body depends on integrating various sensory modalities, such as tactile information. In tactile distance estimation (TDE) tasks, participants must estimate the distance between two tactile tips applied to th…

BACKGROUND: Pain is a complex and multifaced sensory and emotional experience. Virtual reality (VR) has shown promise in reducing experimental pain and chronic pain. This study examines an immersive VR environment initially designed for end…

Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Most LBP is non-specific or idiopathic, which is defined as symptoms of unknown origin without a clear specific cause or pathology. Current guidelines for clinical evaluation…

IntroductionChronic pain (≥3 months) creates pain-related challenges that may negatively affect how young adults perceive themselves, and, indeed, they often report feeling different compared to peers and prospective romantic partners. Most…