The Relations among Pain, Emotional and Cognitive-behavioral Factors in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Patients

Objective: To investigate the relations among pain, emotional factors and cognitive-behavioral factors in chronic musculoskeletal pain patients. Method: This study was designed as a questionnaire survey. 73 patients who visited our outpatient clinics due to chronic musculoskeletal pain were evaluated. They checked visual analogue scale (VAS), pain site and frequency. Beck depression inventory (BDI) and state-trait anxiety index (STAI) were checked for evaluation of emotional factors. Somatization scale of symptom checklist-revised (SCL-R90) and pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) were checked for cognitive-behavioral factors. Correlations among each variable were evaluated by statistical analysis. Results: VAS was correlated with pain frequency (r=0.538, p<0.01), somatization and catastrophizing thought. Rumination thought was correlated with VAS (r=0.443, p<0.01), pain frequency (r=0.446, p<0.01) and static anxiety (r=0.449, p<0.01). Magnification thought was correlated with depression (r=0.403, p<0.01) and static anxiety (r=0.447, p<0.01). Helpless thought was correlated with VAS (r=0.442, p<0.01), pain frequency (r=0.429, p<0.01), depression (r=0.510, p<0.01), static anxiety (r=0.640, p<0.01) and somatization (r=0.504, p<0.01). Duration was not correlated with VAS, depression, anxiety, somatization and catastrophizing thought in chronic musculoskeletal pain patients (p>0.05). Conclusion: Cognitive-behavioral factors such as catastrophizing thought are strongly correlated with both pain aspects and emotional factors. Consideration of cognitivebehavioral factors as well as emotional factors may be important for management of chronic musculoskeletal pain.