Associations Between Pain Catastrophizing and Cognitive Fusion in Relation to Pain and Upper Extremity Function Among Ha
- PDF / 359,040 Bytes
- 8 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 44 Downloads / 206 Views
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Associations Between Pain Catastrophizing and Cognitive Fusion in Relation to Pain and Upper Extremity Function Among Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Patients Sezai Özkan, MD 1,2 & Emily L. Zale, MS 3,4 & David Ring, MD, PhD 5 & Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD 3
# The Society of Behavioral Medicine 2017
Abstract Background Patients who present to hand surgery practices are at increased risk of psychological distress, pain, and disability. Greater catastrophic thinking about pain is associated with greater pain intensity, and initial evidence suggest that, together, catastrophic thinking about pain and cognitive fusion (i.e., interpretation of thoughts as true) are associated with poorer pain outcomes. Purpose We tested whether cognitive fusion or catastrophic thinking interacts in relation to pain and upper extremity physical function among patients seeking care from a hand surgeon. Methods Patients (N = 110; mean age= 47.51; 59% women) presenting to an outpatient hand surgery practice completed computerized measures of sociodemographics, pain intensity, cognitive fusion, catastrophic thinking about pain, and upper extremity function. Results ANCOVA revealed an interaction between cognitive fusion and catastrophic thinking about pain with respect to
pain intensity and upper extremity function (ps < .01). Participants who scored high on both cognitive fusion and catastrophic thinking about pain reported the greatest levels of pain, relative to those who scored high on a single measure. The lowest levels of upper extremity function were also observed among those who scored high on both catastrophic thinking about pain and cognitive fusion. A similar pattern of results was observed when we tested each catastrophizing subscale individually. Conclusion Maladaptive cognitions about pain (i.e., catastrophic thinking) may be particularly problematic when interpreted as representative of reality (i.e., cognitive fusion). Psychosocial interventions addressing catastrophic thinking about pain and cognitive fusion concurrently merit investigation among people with hand and upper extremity illness.
* Ana-Maria Vranceanu [email protected]
2
Department of Trauma Surgery, VU University Medical Center, de Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands
3
Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 1 Bowdoin Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
4
Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, 430 Huntington Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
5
Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd. Suite 2.834, MC: R1800, Austin, TX 78723, USA
Sezai Özkan [email protected]
Keywords Catastrophic thinking . Upper extremity function . Cognitive fusion
Emily L. Zale [email protected] David Ring [email protected] 1
Hand and Upper Extremity Service, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School Yawkey Center, Suite 2100, 55 Fruit Street, Bos
Data Loading...
