The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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Motivational accounts of pain behavior and disability suggest that persisting attempts to avoid or control pain may paradoxically result in heightened attention to pain-related information. We investigated whether attempts to control pain prioritized attention to the location where pain was expected, using a tactile change detection paradigm. Thirty-seven undergraduate students had to detect changes between 2 consecutively presented patterns of tactile stimuli at various body locations. One of the locations was made threatening by occasionally administering a pain-eliciting stimulus. Half of the participants (pain control group) were encouraged to actively avoid the administering of pain by pressing a button as quickly as possible, whereas the other participants (comparison group) were not. The actual amount of painful stimuli was the same in both groups. Results showed that in the comparison group, the anticipation of pain resulted in better detection of tactile changes at the pain location than at the other locations, indicating an attentional bias for the threatened location. Crucially, the pain control group showed a similar attentional bias, but also when there was no actual presence of threat. This suggests that although threat briefly prioritized the threatened location, the goal to control pain did so in a broader, more context-driven manner. ⋯ This study investigates the impact of attempts to control pain on somatosensory processing at the pain location. It provides further insight into the motivational mechanisms of pain-related attention. It also points to the negative consequences of trying to control uncontrollable pain, such as is often the case in chronic pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effectiveness of jyoti meditation for patients with chronic neck pain and psychological distress--a randomized controlled clinical trial.
Chronic neck pain is a common medical complaint partly mediated by psychosocial distress and having a high socioeconomic impact. There is preliminary evidence that stress reduction by meditation might be beneficial in chronic pain syndromes. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week meditation program (jyoti meditation) in patients with chronic neck pain by means of a randomized clinical trial. Eighty-nine patients (aged 49.7 ± 10.5 years, 73 female) with chronic neck pain who scored >40 mm on a 100-mm visual analog scale and had concomitant increased perceived stress were randomized to an 8-week meditation program (jyoti meditation) with weekly 90-minute classes (n = 45) or to a home-based exercise program (n = 44) with a wait list offer for meditation. Both groups were instructed to practice at home. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and after 8 weeks. Primary outcome measure was change of mean pain at rest (visual analog scale score) from baseline to week 8. Secondary outcomes included pain at motion, functional disability, pain-related bothersomeness, perceived stress, quality of life, and psychological outcomes. Patients had neck pain for a mean of 11 years. Eighteen patients in the meditation group and 16 patients in the exercise group were lost to follow-up. Meditation training significantly reduced pain when compared to the exercise group after 8 weeks (reduction of 45.5 ± 23.3 mm to 21.6 ± 17.2 mm in the meditation group, and 43.8 ± 22.0 mm to 37.7 ± 21.5 mm in the exercise group; mean difference: 13.2 mm [95% confidence interval: 2.1, 24.4; P = .02]). Pain-related bothersomeness decreased more in the meditation group (group difference 11.0 mm [95% confidence interval: 1.0, 21.0; P = .03]). No significant treatment effects were found for pain at motion, psychological scores, and quality of life, although the meditation group showed nonsignificant greater improvements compared to the exercise group. In conclusion, meditation may support chronic pain patients in pain reduction and pain coping. Further well-designed studies including more active control comparisons and longer-term follow-up are warranted. ⋯ This article presents the results of a randomized controlled trial on the clinical effects of an 8-week meditation program or self-care exercise in patients with chronic neck pain. Meditation reduced pain at rest but not disability and might be a useful treatment option for pain management of chronic neck pain.
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Although there is a significant association between preexisting depression and later onset of chronic headache, the extent to which other preexisting mental disorders are associated with subsequent onset of headache in the general population is not known. Also unknown is the extent to which these associations vary by gender or by life course. We report global data from the WHO's World Mental Health surveys (n = 52,095), in which, by means of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-3.0, 16 mental disorders from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, were retrospectively assessed in terms of lifetime prevalence and age of onset. Frequent or severe headaches were assessed using self-reports. After adjustment for covariates, survival models showed a moderate but consistent association between preexisting mood (odds ratios [ORs] = 1.3-1.4), anxiety (ORs = 1.2-1.7), and impulse-control disorders (ORs = 1.7-1.9) and the subsequent onset of headache. We also found a dose-response relationship between the number of preexisting mental disorders and subsequent headache onset (OR ranging from 1.9 for 1 preexisting mental disorder to 3.4 for ≥5 preexisting mental disorders). Our findings suggest a consistent and pervasive relationship between a wide range of preexisting mental disorders and the subsequent onset of headaches. This highlights the importance of assessing a broad range of mental disorders, not just depression, as specific risk factors for the subsequent onset of frequent or severe headaches. ⋯ This study shows that there is a temporal association between a broad range of preexisting mental disorders and the subsequent onset of severe or frequent headaches in general population samples across the world.
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Comparative Study
Subgrouping for patients with low back pain: a multidimensional approach incorporating cluster analysis and the STarT Back Screening Tool.
Early screening for psychological distress has been suggested to improve patient management for individuals experiencing low back pain. This study compared 2 approaches to psychological screening (ie, multidimensional and unidimensional) so that preliminary recommendations on which approach may be appropriate for use in clinical settings other than primary care could be provided. Specifically, this study investigated aspects of the STarT Back Screening Tool (SBT): 1) discriminant validity by evaluating its relationship with unidimensional psychological measures and 2) construct validity by evaluating how SBT risk categories compared to empirically derived subgroups using unidimensional psychological and disability measures. Patients (N = 146) receiving physical therapy for LBP were administered the SBT and a battery of unidimensional psychological measures at initial evaluation. Clinical measures consisted of pain intensity and self-reported disability. Several SBT risk-dependent relationships (ie, SBT low < medium < high risk) were identified for unidimensional psychological measure scores, with depressive symptom scores associated with the strongest influence on SBT risk categorization. Empirically derived subgroups indicated that there was no evidence of distinctive patterns among psychological or disability measures other than high or low profiles; therefore, 2 groups may provide a clearer representation of the level of pain-associated psychological distress, maladaptive coping, and disability in this setting compared with 3 groups as suggested when using the SBT in primary care settings. ⋯ This study suggests that the SBT can replace administering several unidimensional psychological measures as a first-line screening measure for psychological distress. However, clinicians need to be aware of the potential for misclassification with SBT results when compared to unidimensional measures. This study also suggests that a modified SBT risk stratification scheme based on empirically derived subgroups could potentially assist in identifying elevated levels of pain-associated psychological distress, maladaptive coping, and disability in practice settings outside of primary care. Patients identified with elevated levels of pain-associated distress and maladaptive coping may be indicated for additional assessment using construct-specific questionnaires.