The occurrence of internalizing problems and chronic pain symptoms in early childhood: what comes first?

IntroductionPatients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) presents often with several concomitant physical and mental health problems. Recent evidence suggests that pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms in patients with PTSD, regardless of the nature of their traumatic experience.Aim of the studyTo evaluate chronic pain in patients with PTSD in a Tunisian military sample.MethodsTransversal descriptive study of a sample of 22 patients treated for PTSD in the Principal Military Hospital of Instruction of Tunis during the period between August and October 2016.The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HAD), and the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form (BPI-SF) were administered for patients.ResultsAll the patients of the study were male. The mean age of the sample was 29.6 years. Fifty percent presented with a co-morbid major depression and 59.1% with chronic pain symptoms. Locations of chronic pain were as follow: limb pain (69.23%), back pain (38.46%), headache (30.76%) and torso pain (7.69%). Sequelae from combat-related trauma were present in 31.8% of cases.ConclusionThe results of this study illustrate a high rate of chronic pain symptoms among PTSD patients. This suggests that closer attention should be given to the interaction of medical problems, especially pain, with PTSD symptomatology in clinical management and in future research.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

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Brief Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Chronic Tension-Type Headache: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy ◽

10.1017/s1352465813000234 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Stuart Cathcart ◽

Nicola Galatis ◽

Maarten Immink ◽

Michael Proeve ◽

John Petkov

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Stress Reduction ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Tension Type Headache ◽

Control Group ◽

Chronic Tension Type Headache ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Type Headache ◽

Pain Symptoms

Background: Mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) has been demonstrated to be effective for reducing chronic pain symptoms; however, the use of MBT for Chronic Tension-Type Headache (CTH) exclusively has to date not been examined. Typically, MBT for chronic pain has involved an 8-week program based on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Recent research suggests briefer mindfulness-based treatments may be effective for chronic pain. Aims: To conduct a pilot study into the efficacy of brief MBT for CTH. Method: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a brief (6-session, 3-week) MBT for CTH. Results: Results indicated a significant decrease in headache frequency and an increase in the mindfulness facet of Observe in the treatment but not wait-list control group. Conclusion: Brief MBT may be an effective intervention for CTH.

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Central sensitization in chronic lumbar spine pain – pathophysiology and diagnostics

Ból ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0014.3421 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Barabara Kosińska ◽

Paweł Turczyn ◽

Krzysztof Wesołowski ◽

Beata Tarnacka ◽

Małgorzata Malec-Milewska

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Central Sensitization ◽

Clinical Problem ◽

Low Back ◽

Spine Pain ◽

High Prevalence ◽

Pain Symptoms ◽

Patients Experience

Chronic low back pain is a substantial clinical problem because of its high prevalence, incidence, complex and heterogeneous symptomatology. The majority of patients experience nociceptive pain only, but in almost 40% of patients neuropathic component may be present. In many patients with low back pain symptoms associated with central sensitization may be present as well and therefore their pain can be classified as nocyplastic. (functional) This paper describes how clinicians can differentiate these types of pain, taking into account that in a given patient several mechanisms may contribute to chronic pain development, and pain results from complex mechanisms. In the second part, therapeutic options are presented for people with symptoms of central sensitization, with emphasis on non-pharmacological methods.

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Psychological Factors Associated with Phantom Limb Pain: A Review of Recent Findings

Pain Research and Management ◽

10.1155/2018/5080123 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Xaver Fuchs ◽

Herta Flor ◽

Robin Bekrater-Bodmann

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Psychological Factors ◽

Phantom Limb Pain ◽

Phantom Limb ◽

Body Perception ◽

Limb Pain ◽

Psychological Variables ◽

Emotional Factors ◽

Pain Symptoms

Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a common phenomenon occurring after the amputation of a limb and can be accompanied by serious suffering. Psychological factors have been shown to play an important role in other types of chronic pain, where they are pivotal in the acquisition and maintenance of pain symptoms. For PLP, however, the interaction between pain and psychological variables is less well documented. In this review, we summarize research on the role of emotional, motivational, cognitive, and perceptual factors in PLP. The reported findings indicate that emotional factors modulate PLP but might be less important compared to other types of chronic pain. Additional factors such as the amount of disability and adjustment to the amputation appear to also play a role. Bidirectional relationships between stress and PLP have been shown quite consistently, and the potential of stress and tension reduction in PLP treatment could be further exploited. Little is known about the role of cognitive variables such as attention or expectation. Catastrophizing seems to aggravate PLP and could be targeted in treatment. Body perception is altered in PLP and poses a potential target for novel mechanistic treatments. More research on psychological factors and their interactions in PLP is needed.

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Fidelity of Peer Supported Self-Management of Chronic Pain (Evaluation of a Peer Coach-Led Intervention to Improve Pain Symptoms—ECLIPSE)

Proceedings of IMPRS ◽

10.18060/22728 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Joyce S. Mannon, B.S. ◽

Marianne S. Matthias, Ph.D.

Keyword(s):

Chronic Pain ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Essential Elements ◽

Self Management ◽

Fidelity Assessment ◽

Trial Testing ◽

Pain Symptoms ◽

Peer Coach ◽

Do So

Background: ECLIPSE (Evaluation of a Peer Coach-Led Intervention to Improve Pain Symptoms) is a randomized controlled trial testing peer-supported chronic pain self-management. Veterans are paired with a peer coach (also with chronic pain) for 6 months. Peer coaches (PCs) and veterans meet or talk by phone 2x/month about pain self-management strategies, and veterans receive motivation and encouragement from their PC. To determine if the intervention was delivered as intended, fidelity was assessed at the end of the intervention period. Fidelity assessment is vital to help understand reasons for an intervention’s success or failure. Methods: Intervention veterans were asked about the intervention’s delivery during their 6-month assessment, after intervention completion. Presence or absence of four “essential elements” of the intervention were evaluated, as well as meeting frequency. Results: Scoring of veteran assessments revealed 74% of PC’s discussed self-management strategies and 69% of veterans felt motivated by their PC. Only 52% discussed how to adjust strategies and 34% discussed goal-setting. PC-veteran meeting frequency varied: 16% met weekly, 21% met twice a month, 16% met once a month, and 46% met less than once a month. 47% of PC’s had greater than 75% fidelity (i.e., the presence of at least 3 of 4 elements described above). Conclusion and Potential Impact: About half of PC’s delivered the intervention with at least 75% fidelity. Fidelity was greater for discussing self-management strategies and motivating veterans. Results suggest that peer-supported self-management can be delivered with fidelity but PCs may need additional training to do so consistently.

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Adverse effects of COVID-19 related lockdown on pain, physical activity and psychological wellbeing in people with chronic pain

10.1101/2020.06.04.20122564 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nicholas Fallon ◽

Christopher Brown ◽

Hannah Twiddy ◽

Eleanor Brian ◽

Bernhard Frank ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Chronic Pain ◽

Adverse Effects ◽

Physical Exercise ◽

Online Survey ◽

Pain Catastrophizing ◽

Control Group ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Healthy Control ◽

Pain Symptoms

AbstractCountries across the world imposed lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been proposed that lockdown conditions disproportionately impact those living with chronic pain, requiring adaptation to treatment and care strategies. We investigated how lockdown restrictions in the United Kingdom impacted individuals with chronic pain (N = 431) relative to a healthy control group (N = 88) using an online survey. In accordance with the fear-avoidance model, we hypothesised increases in perceived pain and psychological distress that would be mediated by pain catastrophizing. Survey questions answered during the lockdown period, probing patients’ self-perceived changes retrospectively, revealed that people with chronic pain perceived increases in their pain severity compared to before lockdown. They were also more adversely affected by lockdown compared to pain-free individuals, demonstrating greater increases in anxiety and depressed mood, increased loneliness and reduced levels of physical exercise. Pain catastrophizing was found to be an important factor in predicting the extent of self-perceived increases in pain, and accounted for the relationship between decreased mood and pain. Perceived decreases in levels of physical exercise also independently predicted perceptions of increased pain. Interestingly, actual changes in pain symptoms (measured at two time points at pre- and post-lockdown in a subgroup, N = 85) did not change significantly on average, but those reporting increases also demonstrated greater baseline levels of pain catastrophizing. Overall, the findings suggest that remote pain management provision to target reduction of catastrophizing and increases to physical activity could be beneficial for chronic pain patients in overcoming the adverse effects of lockdown.

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The development of internalizing problems in early childhood: The importance of sibling clustering.

Journal of Family Psychology ◽

10.1037/fam0000501 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 381-390

Author(s):

Ella Daniel ◽

Michelle Rodrigues ◽

Jennifer M. Jenkins

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Internalizing Problems

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