Effectiveness of spontaneous pain coping strategies for acute pain management: A laboratory study

Abstract

The aim of the present study has been to analyze the relationship between the use of not previously trained, diverse acute pain coping strategies and levels of pain intensity and pain tolerance in a group of healthy participants. Previous research has analyzed the usefulness of the training of these strategies after several training sessions, but adequate patient training requires a great deal of time. Two hundred and forty healthy people participated in the study. Pain coping strategies was evaluated with a version of CSQ-S. Subsequently, the participants completed a cold pressor test and tolerance test. After that, subjects filled in the adaptation of the CSQ-S about the strategies which they had employed throughout the test. Correlation analyses showed a positive relationship between pain intensity and catastrophizing, distractor behaviors, hoping and ignoring the pain. Pain tolerance correlated with self-instructions, ignoring the pain, reinterpreting the pain, catastrophizing and faith and praying. Regression analyses showed that catastrophizing was found to be the strategy that most predicts the variance of pain intensity, and catastrophizing (negative) and ignoring the pain (positive) and praying (negative) were the most predictive ones for pain tolerance. This is the first laboratory study that identifies the more useful pain coping strategies which can be used by patients without previous training in an acute pain context. The results of this study could be useful in the development of protocols for nurses and other health professionals, especially for situations where potentially painful techniques are to be applied to patients.

Effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal and distraction for acute pain: an experimental study

“…Unlike to Lapate et al (2012), the use of this ER strategy was only useful to modulate sensory but not emotional aspects of pain. Notwithstanding, these data could be of great clinical relevance for a better acute pain management, and like the data of Hampton et al (2015) and López-López et al (2023), our results suggest that cognitive reappraisal could be potentially beneficial to regulate sensory pain responses to procedures that may cause acute pain, such as medical tests, oral or physiotherapy interventions.…”

Effectiveness of cognitive reappraisal and distraction for acute pain: an experimental study

“…This failure in attenuating pain unpleasantness can be due to the fact that the instructions for the training in cognitive reappraisal are focused on reappraising sensory aspects of pain sensations rather than emotional components of pain. Notwithstanding, these data could be of great clinical relevance for a better acute pain management, and like the data of Hampton et al (2015) and López-López et al (2023), our results suggest that cognitive reappraisal could be potentially beneficial to regulate sensory pain responses to procedures that may cause acute pain, such as medical tests, oral or physiotherapy interventions.…”

“…Thus, authors such as Hampton et al (2015) and López-López et al (2023) have pointed out the importance of incorporating this ER strategy in acute pain management initiatives.…”

Predicting comorbid mental health difficulties in people with autoimmune arthritis

“…positive self-talk) coping strategies due to a lack of awareness and or development [ 32 ]. Greater pain also appears to limit the use of coping mechanisms, or equally, certain coping mechanisms may be ineffective in coping with pain which perpetuates the pain [ 33 ].…”