SynthesisBMC musculoskeletal disorders2020
Adolescents' experiences of fluctuating pain in musculoskeletal disorders: a qualitative systematic review and thematic synthesis.
Synthesis in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Partners' Experiences of Chronic Pain: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis.Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · 2024Pooled it
- Involvement of children and young people in the conduct of health research: A rapid umbrella review.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Pooled it
- Targeted Real-Time Assessment of Chronic Pain (TRAC-Pain) in Youth: Protocol for a Digital Biosignature Development Through a Prospective Observational Cohort Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Observational
- Validity of Activity-Based Checks (ABCs) of Pain, A Functional Pain Scale.Pain management nursing : official journal of the American Society of Pain Management Nurses · 2026Article
- The interplay between pain and disease activity: personal models of pain beliefs and emotional representations in children and young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in a UK nationwide prospective inception cohort.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2025Article
- Understanding what it is like to experience pain as you grow up: a poetic meta-ethnography.Pain · 2025Review
- Coping in youth living with chronic pain: A systematic review of qualitative evidence.Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2025Article
- Pain Lowers Subjective Survival Probabilities Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024Article
- The experiences of people living with obesity and chronic pain: A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis (QES) protocol.PloS one · 2024Article
- Prevalence of Postural Changes and Musculoskeletal Disorders in Young Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Observational
- Understanding the lived experience of chronic pain: A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative evidence syntheses.British journal of pain · 2023Article
- A meta-ethnography of how children and young people with chronic non-cancer pain and their families experience and understand their condition, pain services, and treatments.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders among General and Technical Secondary School Students in Egypt.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- 'That's what makes me better': Investigating children and adolescents' experiences of pain communication with healthcare professionals in paediatric rheumatology.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2023Article
- Temporomandibular disorders cases with high-impact pain are more likely to experience short-term pain fluctuations.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Is Chronic Pain Temporal Pattern Associated with Middle-Aged and Older Adults' Perceptions of their Futures?Health psychology bulletin · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAdolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain experience daily fluctuations in pain. Although not all fluctuations are bothersome, pain flares are a distinct type of symptom fluctuation with greater impact. Since literature on the experience of pain flares is non-existent, the aim of this review was to (i) synthesise the qualitative literature on adolescents' experiences of fluctuating pain in musculoskeletal disorders in order to (ii) identify knowledge gaps to inform future research on pain flares.
methodsElectronic databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO), grey literature and reference lists were searched from inception to June 2018 for qualitative studies reporting adolescents' experiences of pain. Comprehensiveness of reporting was assessed using the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Health Research. Studies were analysed using thematic synthesis.
resultsOf the 3787 records identified, 32 studies (n = 536) were included. Principal findings were synthesised under three key themes: 1) symptom experience, 2) disruption and loss, and 3) regaining control. The first theme (symptom experience) describes adolescent's perception and interpretation of pain fluctuations. The second theme (disruption and loss) describes the physical, social and emotional constraints faced as a result of changes in pain. The third theme (regaining control) describes coping strategies used to resist and accommodate unpredictable phases of pain. Each theme was experienced differently depending on adolescents' characteristics such as their developmental status, pain condition, and the duration of the pain experience.
conclusionsAdolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain live with a daily background level of symptoms which frequently fluctuate and are associated with functional and emotional difficulties. It was not clear whether these symptoms and challenges were experienced as part of 'typical' fluctuations in pain, or whether they reflect symptom exacerbations classified as 'flares'. Further research is needed to explore the frequency and characteristics of pain flares, and how they differ from their typical fluctuations in pain. The review also highlights areas relating to the pain experience, symptom management and health service provision that require further exploration to support more personalised, tailored care for adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.