Pain control in patients with chronic back pain syndrome

Back pain syndrome is a common problem, not only orthopedic, but also psychological, social and economic. In research and clinical practice, the tendency to differentiate between physiological aspects of pain and the psychological, social and economic factors related to pain is dominant. The goal of this paper is to evaluate pain control perception in patients with chronic back pain syndrome.

The sample consisted of 57 subjects, including 41 females and 16 males suffering from back pain syndrome. The mean age of the subjects was 60 years and the mean period of the disease was 10 years. Pain intensity and motor activity limitation were assessed using a modified Laitinen questionnaire and BPCQ questionnaire developed by S.Skevington.

66% of the subjects reported very intense and intense pain; almost half of the respondents reported limitation of their everyday activities resulting from pain. Among the studied 3 dimensions of pain control perception, external control (powerful doctors) and chance loci were dominant. A detailed analysis of pain control factors revealed great diversity in the replies; none of the reported loci of control was dominant. As compared to the cited English study, the powerful doctors locus was far more seldom reported by our study subjects.

Every third subject reported the desired dimensions of pain control (internal strong or undifferentiated strong types). The obtain results suggest helplessness and lack of self-control of pain among the studied sample.