Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 3, 2026
Determining Pain Detection and Tolerance Thresholds Using an Integrated, Multi-Modal Pain Task Battery
Published on: April 14, 2016
The impact of neglecting analgesics in musculoskeletal pain research: a modeling study using nationally
Lars-Kristian Lunde1, Håkon A Johannessen, Jan Shahid Emberland
1National Institute of Occupational Health. P.O. Box 5330 Majorstuen, N-0304 Oslo, Norway.
Objective:
Analgesics use is rarely considered in studies of work exposures and musculoskeletal pain. We examined weather ignoring analgesics biases estimated associations.
Methods:
Using a three-wave panel data (n=5139), we assessed whether the link between forward bending at work and reported back pain reflect the initial pain response before analgesic use.
Results:
Analgesic use influenced estimates. Bias depended on pain relief magnitude, prevalence of use, and analysis method. All methods generally underestimated association. Unadjusted analyses were most sensitive to pain relief magnitude, with greater bias at higher relief. Bias was larger in populations with higher analgesic use. Patterns were consistent across sample size (n=200, 1000, 5139).
Conclusions:
Ignoring analgesics may bias studies of pain outcomes and should be considered in design, analysis, and interpretation.
