Selected articles on chronic pain
A growing English library — Philippe Rault, MD, pain specialist
Welcome to the English section of douleurchronique.fr. This page features a selection of articles and documentary resources translated from the main French site. More items will be added regularly.
Available articles
Available resources
A selection of published research articles, posters, and clinical reflections originally written in English, downloadable as PDF.
Peer-reviewed
Pain in ALS — Clinical features of pain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
B. Delpont, K. Beauvais, A. Jacquin-Piques, V. Alavoine, Ph. Rault, C. Blanc-Labarre, G.-V. Osseby, M. Hervieu-Bègue, M. Giroud, Y. Béjot
Pain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — a paradoxical and often neglected clinical challenge. Published in Revue Neurologique (2019;175:11–15), this review describes the multiple mechanisms of pain in ALS — primary (cramps, spasticity, neuropathy) and secondary (nociceptive) — and stresses that pain may precede motor symptoms by several years. A reference article frequently cited in international ALS pain literature.
Peer-reviewed
Neuropathic Pain Management in France
P. Elhomsy, S. Sanchez, C. Doussot, Ph. Rault
Only 15-21% of general practitioners in Burgundy comply with the 2020 SFETD guidelines for neuropathic pain. This vignette-based study, published in Pain Physician (2025), reveals an overuse of pregabalin and an insufficient prescription of first-line topical treatments.
Peer-reviewed
rTMS Efficiency in Chronic Pain
C. Gueguen, D. Vesvard, Ph. Rault, I. Berkelmans, B. Pedrono, A. Restif, H. Beloeil, C. Ecoffey
Retrospective cohort of 149 patients at Rennes University Hospital (2014-2015) treated with rTMS for refractory chronic neuropathic pain (mean 9 years duration). Results: 45% sustained efficacy at 6 months and 31% discontinuation of medications. Key clinical message: 30% of non-responders at 1 week become responders at 1 month — early assessment alone is not sufficient.
Poster
PhotoBioModulation — English Poster
Ph. Rault
Photobiomodulation (PBM) — an innovative and multimodal analgesic solution using red and infrared light waves. Central mechanism: enhancement of mitochondrial ATP production, with demonstrated anti-inflammatory, desensitising and healing effects where conventional treatments remain limited.
Clinical reflection
EMDR, Hypnosis and Chronic Pain
Ph. Rault
EMDR and Ericksonian hypnosis share the same fundamental mechanisms: modified state of consciousness, work on mental imagery, therapeutic dissociation. A pragmatic and integrative approach without theoretical dogmatism — at the service of the patient. Clinical reflection article, November 2025.
Clinical reflection
Challenge of Chronic Pain and Myofascial Pain
Ph. Rault
Myofascial pain — a universal component of chronic pain too often ignored. Through two emblematic clinical cases (shoulder and lower back), this article argues for systematic trigger-point evaluation regardless of the underlying mechanism — nociceptive, neuropathic or nociplastic.
Clinical reflection
Nosological Recognition of Myofascial Pain Syndrome
Ph. Rault
Myofascial pain syndrome — extremely frequent, easy to diagnose, yet absent from official classifications (ICD-11). This article advocates for its nosological recognition, drawing on the precedent of migraine, and calls for reproducible criteria and rigorous medico-economic evaluation.
Clinical reflection
Chronic Pain — An Overview
Ph. Rault
From pain-signal to pain-disease — a review of the pathophysiological transition to chronicity. Central sensitisation, wind-up, cortical reorganisation, glial activation: chronic pain is no longer a symptom to "switch off" but a disease of the central nervous system warranting a dedicated medical specialty.
Looking for more content?
The full website is available in French — with over 30 articles on conditions, treatments and pain education.
Visit the French site →
Philippe Rault, MD — Anaesthesiologist · Pain Specialist
Former head of the Pain Centre, Dijon University Hospital · Adelta Médical