Pain-related fear in low back pain: a prospective study in the general population.

A cognitive behavioural account of chronic low back pain (CLBP) proposes that the relationship between pain catastrophizing and functional disability is mediated by fear of movement/(re)injury. Several clinical studies already demonstrated the contribution of pain catastrophizing and fear of movement/(re)injury in the development and maintenance of CLBP. This study included people with low back pain (LBP) in the general population, and aimed to investigate whether fear of movement/(re)injury mediated the relationship between pain catastrophizing and functional disability, by examining several prerequisites for mediation.

The causal status of pain catastrophizing: an experimental test with healthy participants.

In the current study we report findings on the effects of experimentally induced catastrophizing about pain on expected pain, experienced pain and escape/avoidance behavior during a cold pressor task in a sample of healthy participants. It was hypothesized that increasing the level of catastrophizing would result in a higher level of expected pain, a higher level of experienced pain, and a shorter duration of ice-water immersion. Also, it was hypothesized that these relations might be stronger for participants who already catastrophized about pain prior to the experiment.

Pain catastrophizing and consequences of musculoskeletal pain: a prospective study in the Dutch community.

Unlabelled: By elaborating on previous prospective and cross-sectional research, the primary aim of this study was to examine in the general community whether pain catastrophizing predicts the development of chronic pain complaints and other consequences of pain. The following health index values were examined as consequences of pain: specialist consultation, use of pain medication, and absenteeism. It was also examined whether these relationships were moderated by the number of pain problems and by pain intensity.

Pain catastrophizing is associated with health indices in musculoskeletal pain: a cross-sectional study in the Dutch community.

Cross-sectional associations were examined between pain catastrophizing and several health indices in 1,164 people with musculoskeletal pain from a Dutch community sample. Health indices included in the present study were specialist consultation, use of medication, and absenteeism or work disability. The results demonstrate that for people with a current episode of musculoskeletal pain, pain catastrophizing, pain intensity, and the presence of multiple pain locations were significantly associated with specialist consultation, use of pain medication, and absenteeism or work disability.

Pain catastrophizing and general health status in a large Dutch community sample.

The aim of the present study was to examine the association between pain catastrophizing and general health status in a Dutch adult community sample, including various subgroups of people with musculoskeletal pain in the analyses. For exploratory reasons this study partly replicated previous studies of the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). Results demonstrated that across different pain subgroups, catastrophizing uniquely contributed variance to the prediction of the various aspects of general health status beyond the variance explained by pain intensity, age, gender, and chronicity.