Pain Evaluation and Treatment in Clinical Settings

This new research projet in pain is enrolled into an international official collaboration between researchers and clinicians from Irmandade da Santa Casa de Londrina (ISCAL) and those from two Quebec universities: University of Quebec in Chicoutimi (UQAC) and University of Quebec in Rimouski (UQAR).

ISCAL as a living laboratory research environment (sites, equipment, technology) for researchers, clinicians, students, and patients pool will make this project unique in the world, especially to stablish an integral concept on pain from identification, assessment and management, using neurophysiological central measures across patients with neuromusculoskeletal disorders. ISCAL in partnership with Santa Hospital in Londrina admit so many patients per day suffering of pain, by supporting a specific size of sample for establishment of this integral concept in pain.

This project builds on the foundations already well installed at ISCAL for data acquisition and storage, from an ideal set-up including patients with pain and clinicians. ISCAL infrastructure will be used to improve the acquirement of pain data from patients, using high-tech tools in a simple and robust experimental protocol targeting the central nervous system (CNS). Pain conventional evaluation (by questionnaires or simple questions related to pain intensity from anamneses or inspection doctor) will be completed by neurophysiological measures of the CNS activity based on the acquisition of biological signals and related to functional activities of the patients. A specific physiological behavior of pain will be determinate, using different types of preprocessing and statistical analyzes on biological signals. While pain and physical dysfunction mechanisms involve through the CNS, measurements from the CNS will allow to better understand the profiles and needs of the population (active adults and older people) suffering from pain and disabilities.

The knowledge acquired throughout this research program will improve the pain care in Santa Casa Hospital, the evidence-based practices (EBP) on site by specialist doctors and health professionals (nursing, medical, physiatry, physiotherapist etc.), and mainly will improve the quality of life of patients with pain. This project is a sharing of expertise beneficial to both poles, including the training of students, the use of advanced technologies and the exploration of new avenues in pain research grounded on the development of ISCAL in an international collaboration perspective.

All of the work from this research program aims to make ISCAL the reference center for chronic pain in Paraná (south of country) and further, for all Brazil.

The purpose of this project is to detect pain and introduce an evaluation protocol and innovative therapeutic approach in the treatment of patients with chronic pain.

This project activities will be developed within the ISCAL structure, in five phases, as follows: Phase 1 - In this phase, it is aimed to determine the profile of patients admitted to the ISCAL outpatient clinic (pain profile, location of pain, age, gender, type of disorder, duration of symptoms, main functional limitations, type of work, among other variables), as well as, from meetings between the researchers, to establish a standardized pain assessment protocol using simple and high-tech measurement in different patients with musculoskeletal disorders; Phase 2 - This phase aims to determine the psychometric properties of biological measures of the central nervous system (such as parameters from electroencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation) in the context of neuromusculoskeletal pain. A secondary objective would also be to assess the validity (concurrent validity by correlations between measures), reliability (test-retest measure), and specificity of these measures; Phase 3 - In this phase, we aim to determine the sensitivity of pain detection measures from electroencephalography data and muscle fatigue (analyzed by electroneuromyography signals) in individuals with musculoskeletal disorders compared to age- and sex-matched controls. Phase 4 - In this phase, the objective is to verify the effect of pain management intervention using a combination of direct current stimulation neuromodulation (tDCS), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocols and other alternative pain management in individuals with musculoskeletal disorders. Finally in Phase 5, the objective is to provide subsidies for the creation of a research laboratory in pain, as well as possible workshops and lectures for the transfer of knowledge.

From this project, it is expected to contribute to a better knowledge of the mechanisms and neuromodulation of pain in the context of musculoskeletal disorders as well as to develop an evaluation protocol for these patients and help in future interventions or therapeutic options. Moreover, the use of validated assessment and treatment tools could represent an innovation in the rehabilitation context at ISCAL, and could bring benefits to the functionality and quality of life of patients with musculoskeletal disorders.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* Adults males and females
* Age ≥ 20 years and older (≤ 85)
* Body mass index (BMI) between 18 and 35 kg/m2
* From local the community, or be in the waiting list, or be admitted in ISCAL - Irmandande Santa Casa de Londrina (Londrina Santa Casa Hospital)
* Present, at least, 1 diagnosis of musculoskeletal disorder (medical diagnosis declared by the doctors of the clinical team of the hospital)
* Be able to present to the room and perform the tests and functional tasks, without and with minimal assistance
* Present a cognitive state greater than 20 in Mini-Mental State Examination.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Cancer
* Red flags (infection, tumor, etc.)
* Severe psychiatric disorders
* Palliative care
* Congenital spinal deformity (spondylolysis, intervertebral fusions, 4 lumbar vertebrae)
* Fairly severe systemic syndromes or diseases that may preclude testing
* Stroke - very acute phase (1 week) and this is until medial hemodynamic stability
* Any drugs or condition that could affect EEG or rMT measurements