Acute and chronic pain: Pain dimensions and psychological status

Abstract

One hundred and ten outpatients with either acute or chronic low‐back pain completed the McGill Pain Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Life Experiences Survey. Acutes and chronics did not differ on dimensions of pain, but significant correlations between pain dimensions and depression and state anxiety were found for chronics. Both groups showed elevated state anxiety; chronics also evidenced mild depression. Combined scores on depression, anxiety, and negative life change predicted sensory and affective pain for the pooled sample. These results confirm the role of psychological variables in the experience of clinical pain and underscore the highly affective nature of chronic pain.

Fibromyalgia versus Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Comparison of Psychological Disturbance and Life Satisfaction

“…Item responses are summed to yield a total score with a range from 0 to 63. A score of 14-24 is indicative of moderate depressive symptoms and a score of 25 or greater is strongly associated with clinically significant major depression (6,7). The Beck Hopelessness Scale is a 20 item true-false questionnaire assessing negative expectations and pessimism about one's future.…”

“…Scale scores are obtained by summing the ratings for scale items. Scores range from 20 to 80 for both with higher scores indicating higher levels of anxiety (7).…”

Healthcare providers’ accuracy in assessing patients’ pain: A systematic review

“…It is important to note, however, that the experience of acute and chronic pain for patients can be quite different. In one study, although chronic pain patients and acute pain patients did not differ on the sensory, affective, and evaluative dimensions of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), chronic pain patients with higher levels of pain on all three of the MPQ dimensions had significantly higher levels of state anxiety and depression [66]. Although the sensory, affective, and evaluative experience of pain did not differ among acute and chronic pain patients, higher levels of anxiety and depression may make it more difficult for providers to be accurate when assessing chronic pain patients' pain.…”

Emociones Negativas en Pacientes con Lumbalgia Crónica

“…Así, estos niveles resultan estadísticamente significativos en depresión (Atkinson y cols., 1986;Dworkin y Caligor, 1988;Meilman, 1984;Monsalve y cols., 2000;Romano y Turner, 1985;Sternbach, 1978 etc. ), así como también en ansiedad (Ackerman y Stevens, 1989;Ahles, Cassens y Stalling, 1987;Atkinson y cols., 1991;Avia, 1979;Bonica, 1977;Ferrer y cols., 1991bFerrer y cols., , 1992Miró y Raich, 1991;Philips, 1987;Von Baeyer y Wyant, 1988;Weisenberg, 1987).…”

“…Así como que la ansiedad tanto estado como rasgo aparece relacionada con la intensidad del dolor (Ackerman y Stevens, 1989) y que las puntuaciones medias en ansiedad-rasgo resultan significativamente más elevadas en pacientes con dolor que en controles sanos (Ferrer y cols., 1991b(Ferrer y cols., , 1992.…”