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Journal of Pain Research

ISSN: 1178-7090


The following Article Collections/ Thematic Series are currently open for submissions:

Childbirth and Postpartum Pain: The Importance of Maternal Pain Control Beyond the Birth Experience

Dove Medical Press is pleased to invite you to submit your research to an upcoming Article Collection on "Childbirth and Postpartum Pain: The Importance of Maternal Pain Control Beyond the Birth Experience", organized by Guest Advisor Dr. Jinlei Li in the Journal of Pain Research.

Proper labor and postpartum pain management for both vaginal delivery and cesarean section have immediate peripartum, short-term, and long-term impacts in opioid-naive as well as opioid-dependent parturients and their family members. Improper labor pain control has been linked to post-partum depression and increased demand for cesarean delivery, and the latter by itself has been associated with persistent post-surgical pain. In the 21st century it is no longer acceptable among healthcare workers and patients not to treat the severe pain during childbirth simply because it is a “natural” process, yet globally healthcare workers and patients continue to struggle with opioid pandemic.

We are now calling for papers related to:

  • Labor pain control, acute post-cesarean delivery pain control, chronic postpartum pain management including but not limited to perineal pain, vaginal pain, pelvic girdle pain, incisional pain, neuropathic pain, back pain.
  • Opioid consumption in the current opioid crisis, including acute peripartum opioid consumption and chronic opioid usage post discharge, roles of alternative/opioid sparing pain management such as acupuncture, electrical nerve stimulation, and pharmacological alternatives.
  • Impacts of peripartum and postpartum pain control and opioid use on postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and subsequent delivery.
  • Predictive factors for or against subjective perception of labor pain and persistent postpartum pain, such as insomnia, mood disorders, music treatment during labor, peripartum complications, maternal pain during pregnancy, etc.
  • Racial and ethnic inequities in peripartum and post-partum care is important for our understanding of proper maternal pain control and opioid consumption.

If your research interest is not listed here, you are more than welcome to reach out to the Journal of Pain Research for clarification. Original prospective or retrospective research is highly recommended, and systemic reviews/meta-analyses are welcome. We welcome submissions from acute and chronic pain researchers from the perspective of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and patients.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process. Please review the journal Aims and Scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submissions is 31st July 2023.

Please submit your manuscript on our website, quoting the promo code IVIBY to indicate that your submission is for consideration in this Article Collection.

View all papers in this article collection

Orofacial Pain: A new US Dental Specialty. Where are we now?

Dove Medical Press is pleased to invite you to submit your research to an upcoming Article Collection on "Orofacial Pain: A new US Dental Specialty. Where are we now?", organized by Guest Advisors Dr. David Keith and Dr. Alexandre F. DaSilva in the Journal of Pain Research.

Orofacial Pain has become a new Dental Specialty in the US. The origin and responsibility of this subject lies in the realm of Dentistry and thus much of the research work has originated from this discipline, with inherent limitations. Current efforts around the world are endeavoring to rectify this situation by using scientific methodology and interdisciplinary collaboration to focus on the various clinical conditions seen in this anatomic region. It is important to establish a broader evidence base for this subspecialty and to define its direction for the future.

The topics suggested fall into several domains:

1 - The clinical diagnoses of neuropathic, post traumatic, temporomandibular disorder, headache, and psychological correlates of orofacial pain, which are among the most difficult to classify and manage.
2 - The burgeoning fields of neuroimaging and neuromodulation.
3 - Basic science projects that are represented by research on glial cells, pharmacogenomics, animal models, and genetics of Temporomandibular Disorders/Orofacial pain.
4 - National efforts - the US-based OPPERA study and the Norwegian national program for Orofacial Pain.
5 - Bias in Orofacial Pain literature and research based on gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process. Please review the journal Aims and Scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submissions is 17th November 2023.

Please submit your manuscript on our website, quoting the promo code XFCAU to indicate that your submission is for consideration in this Article Collection.

View all papers in this article collection

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Dove Medical Press is pleased to invite you to submit your research to an upcoming Article Collection on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome organized by Guest Advisor Dr. Mark Malinowski in the Journal of Pain Research.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is established as a debilitating process that results in loss of function resulting in both reduced productivity and increased healthcare expenditures to treat this patient population. The pathophysiology of this disease is not well delineated, but it is thought to be a result of both peripheral and central nervous system hypersensitization often with autonomic dysregulation and increased expression of the inflammatory cascade. The amalgamation of chemical response likely involves localized inflammatory markers, central and peripheral neuropeptides, central neuroplasticity and inflammation, glial cell activation, and autoimmunity and predisposition to genetic up- and down-regulation. Given the known presentations of “warm” and “cold” CRPS, the treatment of this process is clinically challenging, and the stage of presentation of the disease often will dictate therapeutic direction.

The Journal editors are seeking original, novel or review article submissions on the following topics:

• Pathophysiology of Injury and Development of CRPS
• The Role of Genetic Expression and CRPS
• Neuroplasticity, Receptors and CRPS
• Neuroinflammation and CRPS
• Impacts of Neuromodulation and Mediators of CRPS
• The Role of Interventional, Non-Neuromodulation Techniques for the Treatment of Early and Late Presentation/Treatment of CRPS
• Impact of CRPS on co-morbidity, healthcare expenditures, socioeconomics and quality of life
• Barriers to Early Recognition and Treatment, and Surveillance of Trends in Reimbursement and Impact of Early or Late Treatment of CRPS

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process. Guest Advisors for this collection will not be involved in peer-reviewing manuscripts unless they are an existing member of the Editorial Board. Please review the journal Aims and Scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submissions is 31st July 2023.

Please submit your manuscript on our website, quoting the promo code ZXOTU to indicate that your submission is for consideration in this Article Collection.

View all papers in this article collection

Cannabis as pain medicine - the dark vs. the light side of a newly discovered treatment

Dove Medical Press is pleased to invite you to submit your research to the upcoming Article Collection “Cannabis as pain medicine - the dark vs. the light side of a newly discovered treatment” organized by Guest Advisor Dr. Michael A. Ueberall in the Journal of Pain Research.

For thousands of years, cannabis has been used to treat a wide variety of symptoms and diseases. Since the beginning of the increasing liberalization of legal restrictions on the use of cannabis, not only the number of medical treatments and experiences with its use, but also the extent of scientific studies and knowledge on its mechanisms of action and meaningful areas of application has been growing continuously. Among the various fields of therapeutic applications, the use of cannabis as medicine plays a special role in the relief of pain that is otherwise difficult to treat and in the treatment of people with chronic (especially neuropathic) pain syndromes, refractory to established and recommended treatment strategies.

Although the extent of subjective pain relief and improvement of pain-related physical and mental disabilities from cannabis does not always correlate with objective measures of its analgesic effects and the scientific proof of its effectiveness compared to placebo in double-blind randomized prospective trials remains unsatisfactory, there is a well-established medical rationale for the use of cannabis in pain medicine. Data from larger observational studies and various health care research projects also point to an overall good tolerability (when used rationally), low organo-toxic side effects, a reasonable interaction potential and an overall positive risk-benefit profile of medically applied cannabis - especially in comparison to the profiles of those treatment alternatives that are otherwise approved, recommended and used for the relief of acute, subacute and difficult or even chronic pain such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), anticonvulsants, antidepressants and/or opioid analgesics.

Inevitably, with the increasingly frequent, widespread and ultimately also earlier use of medical cannabis as pharmacotherapy for pain, the need for high-quality medical-scientific information is growing - especially in order to be able to provide well-founded answers to the unanswered questions of many health professionals and patients regarding the real additional benefit of cannabis in pain medicine, the differential effects of THC and CBD as the most prominent components cannabis, the peculiar role of other constituents of the cannabis plant(s) (such as terpenes and flavonoids) and the relevance of the undesirable cognitive and psychiatric side effects known from recreational use also for the use in patients with chronic pain.

For this reason, we want to provide a well-founded overview of the current state of scientific knowledge around cannabis as a pain medicine within the framework of a special collection of articles, to give therapists and those affected a sound and scientifically valid basis for future therapy decisions.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process. Guest Advisors for this collection will not be involved in peer-reviewing manuscripts unless they are an existing member of the Editorial Board. Please review the journal Aims and Scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2023.

Please submit your manuscript on our website, quoting the promo code ZFHTS to indicate that your submission is for consideration in this Article Collection.

View all papers in this article collection

Cancer Pain

Dove Medical Press is pleased to invite you to submit your research to an upcoming Article Collection on "Cancer Pain", organized by Guest Advisors Dr. Amitabh Gulati and Dr. Alaa Abd-Elsayed in the Journal of Pain Research.

Cancer pain medicine has evolved significantly over the last few decades. As oncologic treatments have revolutionized cancer patient outcomes, we have seen a change in the cancer pain syndromes that patients face and practitioners must treat. Fortunately, concepts in multimodal pharmacologic therapy and interventional pain medicine have changed the delivery of pain care to these patients. Thus, to appropriately treat today's cancer patients, our caregivers need up to date information to optimize pain care. This compilation of articles on the topic of advanced cancer pain medicine will bridge the advances in oncology and pain medicine for the readership in this field. We will include topics in cancer pain syndromes, neuromodulation, pharmaceuticals and holistic care for the pain patient.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process. Guest Advisors for this collection will not be involved in peer-reviewing manuscripts unless they are an existing member of the Editorial Board. Please review the journal Aims and Scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2023.

Please submit your manuscript on our website, quoting the promo code WVQJA to indicate that your submission is for consideration in this Article Collection.

View all papers in this article collection

Dysmenorrhea: Therapy and Mechanism

Dove Medical Press is pleased to invite you to submit your research to an upcoming Article Collection on "Dysmenorrhea: Therapy and Mechanism", organized by Guest Advisor Dr. Jie Yang (Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine) in the Journal of Pain Research.

Dysmenorrhea, commonly known as menstrual cramps, is a widespread gynecological disorder that affects a significant number of women worldwide. Despite its high prevalence, effective treatments and a clear understanding of the underlying mechanisms are still lacking. To address this gap in knowledge, we are inviting submissions related to dysmenorrhea for our upcoming Article Collection.

Specifically, we are interested in papers that cover the following topics:
1. Pathophysiology of Dysmenorrhea, including the role of prostaglandins, uterine contractions, and central nervous system sensitization. This topic is crucial in providing a comprehensive understanding of the pathogenesis of dysmenorrhea.
2. Pharmacological Interventions for Dysmenorrhea, such as NSAIDs, hormonal contraceptives, analgesics, and other medications. We are seeking articles that address the evidence, limitations, and side effects supporting the use of these interventions in the management of dysmenorrhea.
3. Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Dysmenorrhea, including exercise, acupuncture, heat therapy, and other alternative therapies. We welcome papers that discuss the evidence supporting the use of these interventions and their potential role in managing dysmenorrhea.
4. Potential Mechanisms for Dysmenorrhea, such as central and peripheral factors, uterine and ovarian blood supply, and other related mechanisms. We also encourage submissions that explore the potential mechanisms underlying therapies aimed at improving ovarian or uterine functions.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo desk assessment and peer-review as part of our standard editorial process. Guest Advisors for this collection will not be involved in peer-reviewing manuscripts unless they are an existing member of the Editorial Board. Please review the journal Aims and Scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submissions is 31 December 2023.

Please submit your manuscript on our website, quoting the promo code LOYEF to indicate that your submission is for consideration in this Article Collection.

View all papers in this article collection


Call For Papers

Editor-in-Chief: Dr Michael Schatman


To see where the Journal of Pain Research is indexed online view the Journal Metrics

The Journal of Pain Research is the official journal of the American Society of Pain & Neuroscience. Learn more.

The Journal of Pain Research welcomes laboratory and clinical findings in the fields of pain research and the prevention and management of pain. Original research, reviews, symposium reports, hypothesis formation and commentaries are all considered for publication.

What is the advantage to you of publishing in the Journal of Pain Research?

  • It is an open access journal which means that your paper is available to anyone in the world to download for free directly from the Dove website.
  • Although the Journal of Pain Research receives a large number of papers, unlike many traditional journals, your paper will not be rejected due to lack of space. We are an electronic journal and there are no limits on the number or size of the papers we can publish.
  • The time from submission to a decision being made on a paper can, in many journals, take some months and this is very frustrating for authors. The Journal of Pain Research has a quicker turnaround time than this. Generally peer review is complete within 3-4 weeks and the editor’s decision within 2-14 days of this. It is therefore very rare to have to wait more than 6 weeks for first editorial decision.
  • Many authors have found that our peer reviewer's comments substantially add to their final papers.

To recover our editorial and production costs and continue to provide our content at no cost to readers we charge authors or their institution an article publishing charge.

PubMed Central
The Journal of Pain Research  is indexed on PubMed Central (title abbreviation: J Pain Res). All published papers in this journal are submitted to PubMed for indexing straight away.

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If you haven't already joined the Dove Press Favored Author Program I would encourage you to do so. Why? To receive real benefits like fast-tracking and a personal co-ordinator for your paper, as well as a discount on the publication processing fee.
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Yours sincerely
Dr Michael Schatman
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Pain Research

Email: Editor-in-Chief

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