Kinesiophobia is associated with pain intensity in people suffering from chronic pain. The number of publications highlighting this relationship has increased significantly in recent years, emphasizing the importance of investigating and synthesizing research evidence on this topic. The purpose of this scoping review was to answer the following questions: (1) What types of interventions have been or are currently being studied in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the management of kinesiophobia in patients with chronic pain? (2) What chronic pain conditions are targeted by these interventions? (3) What assessment tools for kinesiophobia are used in these interventions? According to the studies reviewed, (1) physical exercise is the most commonly used approach for managing irrational fear of movement, (2) interventions for kinesiophobia have primarily focused on musculoskeletal pain conditions, particularly low back pain and neck pain, and (3) the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia is the most commonly used tool for measuring kinesiophobia. Future RCTs should consider multidisciplinary interventions that can help patients confront their irrational fear of movement while taking into account the patient’s personal biological, psychological, and social experiences with pain and kinesiophobia.

Immersive virtual reality has recently developed into a readily available system that allows for full-body tracking. Can this affordable system be used for component tracking to advance or replace expensive kinematic systems for motion analysis in the clinic? The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of position and orientation measures from Vive wireless body trackers when compared to Vicon optoelectronic tracked markers attached to (1) a robot simulating trunk flexion and rotation by repeatedly moving to know locations, and (2) healthy adults playing virtual reality games necessitating significant trunk displacements. The comparison of both systems showed component tracking with Vive trackers is accurate within 0.68 ± 0.32 cm translationally and 1.64 ± 0.18° rotationally when compared with a three-dimensional motion capture system. No significant differences between Vive trackers and Vicon systems were found suggesting the Vive wireless sensors can be used to accurately track joint motion for clinical and research data.

Purpose: Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is a standardized method to assess somatosensory function. The collection of qualitative information, during the QST procedure, could be an interesting way to facilitate the characterization of altered sensory perception and the identification of different pain phenotypes. The aims of this study were 1) to classify qualitative fieldnotes of sensory abnormalities collected during an independent QST study, and 2) to generate a qualitative interview guide that could be included in the traditional QST procedure as a step towards the implementation of a mixed methods approach. Patients and Methods: QST data were collected from 48 chronic neuropathic pain patients treated with spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Three body areas, with or without SCS, were tested: the painful limb targeted by SCS, the contralateral area, and the ipsilateral upper limb. After each trial of each QST modality, patients were encouraged to report any sensory abnormalities they could identify with a pain quality scale or using their own words. Results: Qualitative self-reported sensory abnormalities were dichotomized into two groups: altered sensory intensities and altered sensory perceptions. Altered sensory intensities were classified as sensory loss or sensory gain subgroups. Altered sensory perceptions were classified as paresthesia and dysesthesia subgroups Overall, 630 qualitative fieldnotes of altered sensations were collected: 385 on the painful limb, 173 at the contralateral area, and 72 at the ipsilateral upper limb. Based on these qualitative data, we propose a standardized method to collect qualitative data involving 9 open- and close-ended questions and 21 codes. Conclusion: Our findings have highlighted the value of qualitative sensory evaluation during QST and constitute an important milestone in the development of a mixed methods protocol in phenotyping research.

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a surgical treatment for severe, chronic, neuropathic pain. It is based on one to two lead(s) implanted in the epidural space, stimulating the dorsal column. It has long been assumed that when deactivating SCS, there is a variable interval before the patient perceives the return of the pain, a phenomenon often termed echo or carryover effect. Although the carryover effect has been problematized as a source of error in crossover studies, no experimental investigation of the effect has been published. This open, prospective, international multicenter study aimed to systematically document, quantify, and investigate the carryover effect in SCS. Eligible patients with a beneficial effect from their SCS treatment were instructed to deactivate their SCS device in a home setting and to reactivate it when their pain returned. The primary outcome was duration of carryover time defined as the time interval from deactivation to reactivation. Central clinical parameters (age, sex, indication for SCS, SCS treatment details, pain score) were registered and correlated with carryover time using nonparametric tests (Mann-Whitney/Kruskal-Wallis) for categorical data and linear regression for continuous data. In total, 158 patients were included in the analyses. A median carryover time of five hours was found (interquartile range 2.5;21 hours). Back pain as primary indication for SCS, high-frequency stimulation, and higher pain score at the time of deactivation were correlated with longer carryover time. This study confirms the existence of the carryover effect and indicates a remarkably high degree of interindividual variation. The results suggest that the magnitude of carryover may be correlated to the nature of the pain condition and possibly stimulation paradigms. The Clinicaltrials.gov registration number for the study is NCT03386058.

Background: The Fear-Avoidance Components Scale (FACS) is a reliable and valid instrument widely used to assess fear-avoidance beliefs related to pain and disability. However, there is a scarcity of validated translations of the FACS in different cultural and linguistic contexts, including the French population. This study aimed to translate and validate the French version of the FACS (FACS-Fr/CF), examining its psychometric properties among French-speaking individuals. Methods: A cross-cultural translation process–including forward translation, backward translation, expert committee review, and pre-testing–was conducted to develop the FACS-Fr/CF. The translated version was administered to a sample of French-speaking adults (n = 55) with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Internal consistency (including confirmatory analyses of the 2 factors identified in the Serbian version), test-retest reliability and convergent validity were then assessed. Results: The FACS-Fr/CF demonstrated high global internal consistency (α = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91–0.96) as well as high internal consistency of the 2 factors identified in the Serbian version (α = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.86–0.94 and α = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.85–0.94, respectively). Test-retest analysis revealed a moderate (close to high) reliability (ICC = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.82–0.94 and r = 0.89; p<0.005). Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations between the FACS-Fr/CF scores and the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (r = 0.82; p < 0.005), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (r = 0.72; p < 0.005) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (r = 0.66; p < 0.005). Conclusion: The present study provides evidence for the cross-cultural translation and psychometric validation of the FACS-Fr/CF. The FACS-Fr/CF exhibits a high internal consistency, a moderate (close to high) test-retest reliability, and good construct validity, suggesting its utility in assessing fear-avoidance beliefs in the French-speaking population. This validated tool can enhance the assessment and understanding of fear-avoidance behaviors and facilitate cross-cultural research in pain-related studies.