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Differing correlations between pain measures in syndromes with or without explicable organic pathology
Franklin Perry1, Philip H Heller, Jon D Levine
1Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CAU.S.A. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CAU.S.A. Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Hayward, CAU.S.A.
Pain
|August 1, 1988
Summary
Pain measures may be less valid for complex conditions like fibromyalgia. Studies show lower correlations between pain scores in fibrositis patients compared to arthritis patients, suggesting differing pain experiences.
Area of Science:
- Pain Medicine
- Rheumatology
- Psychophysics
Background:
- Chronic pain syndromes present diagnostic challenges, particularly when organic causes are not readily apparent.
- Validating pain measurement tools is crucial for accurate assessment and treatment of chronic pain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the validity of common pain measures in chronic pain syndromes with and without clear organic pathology.
- To compare pain reporting and measure correlations in patients with inflammatory arthritis versus primary fibrositis.
Main Methods:
- Correlated scores from the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) subscales.
- Analyzed data from patients diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis and primary fibrositis.
Main Results:
- Fibrositis patients reported significantly more pain across several measures despite less demonstrable pathology.
- Arthritis patients showed strong positive correlations between different pain measures, supporting their validity.
- Fibrositis patients exhibited lower, and sometimes negative, correlations between pain measures, questioning their consistency.
Conclusions:
- Established pain measures, validated for conditions with clear pathology, may be less reliable for complex syndromes like fibrositis.
- The complex nature of pain in fibrositis may require different or more nuanced measurement approaches.
- Further research is needed to refine pain assessment tools for conditions with unclear organic origins.