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Psychological factors predict local and referred experimental muscle pain: A cluster analysis in healthy adults
Author(s) -
Lee J.E.,
Watson D.,
FreyLaw L.A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european journal of pain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.305
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1532-2149
pISSN - 1090-3801
DOI - 10.1002/j.1532-2149.2012.00249.x
Subject(s) - psychology , emotionality , odds ratio , pain catastrophizing , clinical psychology , chronic pain , medicine , physical therapy , developmental psychology , psychiatry
Background Recent studies suggest an underlying three‐ or four‐factor structure explains the conceptual overlap and distinctiveness of several negative emotionality and pain‐related constructs. However, the validity of these latent factors for predicting pain has not been examined. Methods A cohort of 189 (99 female, 90 male) healthy volunteers completed eight self‐report negative emotionality and pain‐related measures ( E ysenck P ersonality Q uestionnaire – R evised, P ositive and N egative A ffect S chedule, S tate‐ T rait A nxiety I nventory, P ain C atastrophizing S cale, F ear of P ain Q uestionnaire; S omatosensory A mplification S cale, A nxiety S ensitivity I ndex and W hiteley I ndex). Using principal axis factoring, three primary latent factors were extracted: general distress, catastrophic thinking and pain‐related fear. Using these factors, individuals clustered into three subgroups of high, moderate and low negative emotionality responses. Experimental pain was induced via intramuscular acidic infusion into the anterior tibialis muscle, producing local (infusion site) and/or referred (anterior ankle) pain and hyperalgesia. Results Pain outcomes differed between clusters (multivariate analysis of variance and multinomial regression), with individuals in the highest negative emotionality cluster reporting the greatest local pain ( p = 0.05), mechanical hyperalgesia (pressure pain thresholds; p = 0.009) and greater odds (2.21 odds ratio) of experiencing referred pain when compared to the lowest negative emotionality cluster. Conclusion Our results provide support for three latent psychological factors explaining the majority of the variance between several pain‐related psychological measures, and that individuals in the high negative emotionality subgroup are at increased risk for (1) acute local muscle pain; (2) local hyperalgesia; and (3) referred pain using a standardized nociceptive input.