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Fear and avoidance in dysfunctional chronic back pain patients
Gordon J G Asmundson1, Ron G Norton, Marilee D Allerdings
1Rehabilitation Research Department, Wascana Rehabilitation Centre, 2180 23rd Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada S4S 0A5 University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Pain
|February 1, 1997
Summary
Patients with chronic pain experience fear and avoidance. Dysfunctional patients report higher pain-specific fear and avoidance than other groups, impacting their coping strategies.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Pain Management
- Clinical Research
Background:
- Chronic pain significantly impacts patients' lives, often leading to fear and avoidance behaviors.
- Understanding the relationship between pain, fear, and coping is crucial for effective treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate fear and avoidance patterns in different chronic pain patient subgroups.
- To determine if pain-specific fear and avoidance measures can predict patient classifications.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted involving patients with chronic pain.
- Study 1: 200 patients classified into dysfunctional, interpersonally distressed, and adaptive copers using the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI). Groups compared on anxiety, fear, and avoidance measures.
- Study 2: Discriminant function analysis used pain-specific fear and avoidance measures to predict MPI classification in 55 chronic pain patients.
Main Results:
- Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in fear and avoidance across MPI groups.
- Dysfunctional patients reported greater pain-specific fear and avoidance compared to interpersonally distressed and adaptive copers.
- Pain-specific fear and avoidance measures accurately classified 76.5% of dysfunctional patients and 71.1% of other groups.
Conclusions:
- Pain-specific fear and avoidance are key discriminators of patient subgroups in chronic pain.
- Findings highlight the importance of addressing pain-specific fear and avoidance in clinical interventions for dysfunctional chronic pain patients.