The effect of preconditioning on the modalities of pain management

This study investigated the effect of positive preconditioning on the specific modality of verbal and touch interventions, in pain management.

We compared pain ratings in 51 participants who underwent a cold pressor test twice (T1, T2). The results from the first test were used as a reference. For the second test, the participants were divided into 5 groups. Four groups received verbal or touch intervention during the test, with or without preconditioning. The fifth group was a control group. We compared dVAS (pain ratings at T1 minus T2) between groups to assess the effect of the interventions and the preconditioning. We also explored the within-group association between dVAS and pain-related traits.

We found a significant effect of preconditioning on dVAS. The post hoc test showed that the preconditioned verbal group reported higher dVAS than the non-preconditioned one. Participants' emotional awareness scores were negatively correlated with dVAS in the preconditioned touch group.

These data suggested that preconditioning enhances pain management, regardless of intervention modalities. However, the preconditioning effect for the touch modality was negatively associated with the participants' emotional awareness.

Communication must be adapted with caution, depending on the treatment and the patients' emotional status.