The relationship between pain psychological factors and job stress in rehabilitation workers with or without chronic pain

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pain is affected by pain psychological factors (PPFs), whereas relationship between PPFs and job stress are unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between PPFs and job stress in workers. METHODS:The study participants were the staff of the rehabilitation department of a core hospital. After undergoing a preliminary survey (38/43, 88% response rate), the rehabilitation workers were divided into the chronic pain group (CPG, n = 18) and the nonpain group (NPG, n = 13). RESULTS: Depression, anxiety, and magnification in the CPG were significantly associated with depressed mood and total stress response. Anxiety in the NPG was also significantly associated with all stress responses, except irritability and feelings of anxiety. Furthermore, all subscales of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale in the NPG were significantly and negatively associated with the vigor of stress responses. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic pain in workers was associated with severe job stress, and increased job stress worsened the state of chronic pain. Pain catastrophizing may be associated with early job stress in a person with no pain. This finding revealed a difference between the CPG and NPG and may be important for managing workers with job stress or pain.

Factors Affecting Psychological Stress in Healthcare Workers with and without Chronic Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Multiple Regression Analysis

“…In addition, in the multiple regression analysis, CPG-depression had anxiety as an independent variable, and NPG-anxiety had depression as an independent variable. This finding emphasizes earlier findings that depression is important to consider in cases of chronic pain, while anxiety is an important consideration in the absence of pain [16]. However, this finding may also simply involve the effects of participants’ differential abilities to deal with high stress, as CPG scores were significantly higher in the comparison of the two groups.…”

“…Accordingly, the results of the present study contribute to the understanding of differences in job-life satisfaction affecting job-related psychological stress between people with chronic pain and those with no pain. Our interpretation that magnification increases depression is appropriate; while the differences regarding the PCS subscales were slight, several studies have reported the importance of magnification as a psychological factor [16,36]. Furthermore, pain catastrophizing and depression have additive and adverse effects on the impact of pain, hence both are important assessment measures for chronic pain [31].…”

“…However, thus far the investigation of mental health as it relates to pain is inadequate. We reported on psychological job stress and depression related to chronic pain, as well as psychological stress and anxiety related to the absence of pain, in a previous study on rehabilitation workers [16]. However, a detailed structural explanation for this difference has not yet been provided.…”

The quantity and quality of scientific evidence about the health of working women in occupational health of Japan: A scoping review

“…In Japan, women workers are more dominant in the health and welfare industry, followed by retail and wholesale, where low back pain is the most frequently observed health issue. This review found that pain associated with lumbago decreases work engagement 80 and increases psychological distress 81 . As muscle‐required jobs may incur an unexpected burden on health, especially in women, more interventional studies should be warranted to alleviate work‐related physical problems.…”

Effects of COVID-19 Social Distancing Measures in Individuals with Chronic Pain Living in Spain in the Late Stages of the Lockdown

“…Finally, during the lockdown, many individuals could not continue working, which resulted in socio-economic problems and emotional dysfunction (see e.g., [22]). In turn, this has been associated with a worsening of chronic pain, in general (see e.g., [23]). Interestingly, Toprak and colleagues found that individuals who stayed at home during lockdown reported higher levels of low back pain than those who continued going to work [24].…”