Journal Club: Neuroinflammation in Myofascial Pain Disorders

Spine & Nerve

In this week's episode of the Spine & Nerve podcast Dr. Nicolas Karvelas and Dr. Brian Joves expand on the recent discussion of myofascial pain and discuss a recently published article that explored neuroinflammation. In the prior discussion, it was highlighted how prone chronic myofascial pain processes are to the development of central and peripheral sensitization. This contributes to the debilitating nature and treatment resistance commonly seen in patients with myofascial pain syndromes. Myofascial pain may not be the primary underlying process for many patients living with chronic pain, but it is very common for many to have a strong component of myofascial pain. For example, fibromyalgia has been demonstrated to have a strong central sensitization mechanism in regards to pathophysiology, however it has been demonstrated through the research that myofascial pain is a significant and important feature of fibromyalgia. Listen as the doctors discuss the findings of this interesting recent journal article investigating the objective evidence of neuroinflammation in fibromyalgia patients, and explore the implications of the article's results for the approach to chronic pain disease processes with strong myofascial pain components. This podcast is for information and educational purposes only, it is not meant to be medical or career advice. If anything discussed may pertain to you, please seek council with your healthcare provider. The views expressed are those of the individuals expressing them, the may not represent the views of Spine & Nerve. References: 1. Seo S, Jung YH, Lee D, Lee WJ, Jang JH, et al. (2021) Abnormal neuroinflammation in fibromyalgia and CRPS using [11C]-(R)-PK11195 PET. PLOS ONE 16(2): e0246152. 2. Younger J, Noor N,McCue R, Mackey S. Low‐dose naltrexone for the treatment of fibromyalgia: findings of a small, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, counterbalanced, crossover trial assessing daily pain. Arthritis & Rheumatism 65 (2), 529-538, 2013