Relationship Among Pain Catastrophizing, Depressed Mood, and Outcomes Across Physical Therapy Treatments

• Background: Pain catastrophizing and emotional distress can act as prognosticfactors for pain and disability. Research on how these variables interact withinindividuals and over time is in an early stage. Understanding various patterns ofprognostic factors and how these factors change during treatment is important fordeveloping treatments targeting important factors.Objective: The primary aim of this study was to investigate relationships betweenpain catastrophizing and depressed mood in people seeking primary care for mus-culoskeletal pain. An additional aim was to relate these patterns of prognostic factorsto outcomes during a 6-month period.Design: The design was prospective; data were obtained at baseline and atfollow-up.Methods: Forty-two physical therapists taking part in an educational programrecruited, from their clinical practices in primary care, consecutive patients whowere currently experiencing a pain problem. Patients received various physicaltherapy interventions between baseline and follow-up.Results: On the basis of patterns of scoring for pain catastrophizing and depressedmood, 4 subgroups of participants were found. Belonging to a subgroup withelevated levels of either pain catastrophizing or depressed mood at baseline wasrelated to the absence of improvement and elevated levels of disability after physicaltherapy interventions. Furthermore, elevated levels of both variables were related tothe highest levels of disability.Limitations: The analyses relied on self-report. Neither treatment content norpain-related fear was measured. The sample was a mixture of participants reportingacute pain and subacute pain.Conclusions: The results stress the importance of assessing and targeting prog-nostic factors. Moreover, the results suggest the need to tailor treatments to matchpatterns of prognostic factors and the need to target depressed mood and paincatastrophizing in physical therapy interventions.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Psychology

Psykologi

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