Research by COM students and alumni published in medical journal
Research on pain sensitivity conducted by two SWAG视频 College of Osteopathic Medicine (SWAG视频COM) students and four alumni is now published in Pain Medicine, a well-respected, multi-disciplinary journal dedicated to clinicians, educators, and researchers with an interest in pain.
is a research project started a few years ago that was passed on from pairs of SWAG视频COM students until its completion.
鈥淲e did a sphygmomanometer test, which is a sensory test that measures an individual鈥檚 response to pressure using a standard blood pressure cuff,鈥 said Seth Butler (D.O., 鈥21), one of the researchers. 鈥淲e examined the feasibility of using the sphygmomanometer test with chronic pain patients to test their threshold for pain compared to an everyday, healthy person.鈥
Existing tests that measure pain can be expensive, with some requiring special equipment and training. The researchers were interested in finding out if a blood pressure cuff could be used instead by measuring a patient鈥檚 reaction to the pressure it creates.
鈥淲e wanted to see if a standard blood pressure cuff could be used as an alternative because every primary care clinic has a blood pressure cuff,鈥 Butler explained. 鈥淲e measured the time it takes until someone has the sensation of pain, not when you cannot withstand the pain, just the moment you have the sensation of pain.鈥
Healthy subjects and chronic pain patients were recruited for the study. Researchers found that the chronic pain patients
had significantly higher levels of depression, anxiety, and fatigue, but they did not find a difference between the chronic pain group and the healthy subject group when it comes to general pain sensitivity measured at the arm that was not affected by respective chronic pain conditions.
Further, unlike other pain sensitivity tests used, the test using the blood pressure cuff did not seem to be affected by other psychological factors, such as depression and anxiety in patients with chronic pain.
鈥淭his could be a potential advantage of this test,鈥 Butler commented. 鈥淎n independent measurement for pain would be a great asset for patient care.鈥
Butler says he was thrilled to see the research published in a leading medical journal.
鈥淭his is going on nine years of research for me and this is my first study ever published, so it's pretty awesome to see,鈥 he said.
Liem Nguyen (D.O., 鈥21), Ross Heinrich, D.O., 鈥20, David Shbeeb, D.O., 鈥20, Kyle Draleau, D.O., 鈥19, Daniel Sigalovsky, D.O., 鈥19, conducted the research with Butler.
The researchers worked under Ling Cao, M.D., Ph.D. professor of immunology, and alongside Stephen Hull, M.D., at Northern Light Mercy Pain Center.
