Is Pain in the Uninjured Arm Associated With Unhelpful Thoughts and Distress Regarding Symptoms During Recovery From Upper-Extremity Injury?

Romere, Chase M.; Ramtin, Sina; Nunziato, Carl; Ring, David; Laverty, David; Hill, Austin

doi:10.1016/j.jhsa.2023.03.019

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 29 publications

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“…Unhelpful thoughts and feelings of worry or despair (distress) regarding symptoms account for a notable proportion of the variation in magnitude of incapability among individuals seeking musculoskeletal specialty care. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] For instance, people report more intense pain and greater incapability when painful movement is interpreted as making their condition worse, more so when they are also feeling symptoms of worry or despair. 11 The current measures of unhealthy mindsets regarding symptoms use varied characterizations that seem to mix items that address unhelpful thoughts (cognitive errors or misconceptions) with items that address unhelpful feelings such as worry and despair regarding symptoms.…”

Section: Introduction Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Items Addressing Thoughts and Emotions Regarding Symptoms Measure Distinct Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health?

Ramtin,

Reichel,

Ring

et al. 2023

Journal of Patient Experience

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A prior experiment identified separate thought and feeling item groupings among items in measures of unhelpful thinking (ie, catastrophic thinking, kinesiophobia). This study sought to confirm the utility of separating these factors using a subset of selected items. One hundred and thirty-six adult patients visiting a musculoskeletal specialist completed the surveys. Confirmatory factor analysis measured the association between variation in scores on a specific item with variation in scores in separate groupings for thoughts and feelings, and a combined item grouping. Cronbach alpha (internal consistency) and Spearman correlation with magnitude of capability were also measured for the three separate item groupings. The association of variation in specific items with variation in a group of items addressing thoughts, a group of items addressing feelings, and the combination of all items was comparable. The internal consistency and strength of association with magnitude of capability were also comparable. The finding of no advantage to separation of items addressing thoughts and feelings regarding symptoms suggests that just a few items may be able to represent unhealthy mindsets regarding musculoskeletal symptoms.

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Section: Introduction Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Items Addressing Thoughts and Emotions Regarding Symptoms Measure Distinct Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health?

Ramtin,

Reichel,

Ring

et al. 2023

Journal of Patient Experience

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

The relationship of perceived empathy with levels of pain intensity and incapability among patients visiting a musculoskeletal specialist

Fatehi¹,

Brown²,

Versluijs³

et al. 2023

Patient Education and Counseling

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Contralateral Arm Pain as a Sign of Distress Regarding Symptoms

Davids,

Padilla,

Ring

et al. 2023

Hand (New York, N,Y.)

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Background: Pain intensity and magnitude of incapability are associated with common unhelpful thoughts about symptoms such as catastrophic thinking and kinesiophobia. To determine whether reports of pain in the upper limb contralateral to a non-trauma condition were associated with unhelpful thoughts, we measured the relationship between pain intensity in the opposite limb and levels of unhelpful thinking. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 152 new and return patients seeking care of an upper-limb musculoskeletal condition completed measures of upper-extremity-specific magnitude of capability, pain intensity of the involved and contralateral arms, unhelpful thoughts regarding symptoms, symptoms of distress regarding symptoms, and general symptoms of depression. Factors associated with contralateral and ipsilateral pain intensity and upper-extremity-specific magnitude of capability were assessed using multivariable statistics. Results: In bivariate analysis, contralateral arm pain was associated with symptoms of distress regarding pain, but not in multivariable analysis. Accounting for potential confounding in negative binominal regression analysis, greater pain intensity of the affected side was independently associated with greater feelings of distress regarding symptoms and no prior surgery. Greater upper-extremity-specific capability was independently associated with less distress regarding symptoms, married/partnered, men, and no prior surgery. Conclusions: The observation that greater pain intensity in the opposite arm was associated with greater distress regarding symptoms suggests that, in combination with other verbal and non-verbal signs of distress, patient concerns about pain in the contralateral limb can help direct patients and surgeons to evidence-based care strategies for alleviating stress regarding symptoms.

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Is Pain in the Uninjured Arm Associated With Unhelpful Thoughts and Distress Regarding Symptoms During Recovery From Upper-Extremity Injury?

Cited by 5 publications

References 29 publications

Do Items Addressing Thoughts and Emotions Regarding Symptoms Measure Distinct Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health?

Do Items Addressing Thoughts and Emotions Regarding Symptoms Measure Distinct Aspects of Musculoskeletal Health?

The relationship of perceived empathy with levels of pain intensity and incapability among patients visiting a musculoskeletal specialist

Contralateral Arm Pain as a Sign of Distress Regarding Symptoms

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