Sensitization and Catastrophizing: Introspection Confirmed Experimentally | Pain Research Forum

In this study, repeated thermal stimuli were applied to participants' forearms, producing hyperalgesia. Half the participants were given a cognitive intervention to reduce their stress response to the painful stimuli by identifying negative cognitions and reappraising the situation. In comparison with a control condition, the cognitive intervention led to reduced unpleasantness ratings. The authors conclude, "Reduction in secondary hyperalgesia was associated with reduced pain catastrophizing, suggesting that changes in central sensitization are related to changes in pain-related cognitions. Thus, we demonstrate that central sensitization can be modified volitionally by altering pain-related thoughts." The take-home message: let's watch out for sensitization and catastrophizing and their mutually reinforcing interaction, in our patients and in ourselves. Have you experienced sensitization and hyperalgesia in your own life? What did you do, physically and psychologically, to deal with it? Did you learn anything from that experience that informs your research or clinical practice? What other research bears on this relationship between sensitization and catastrophizing? http://www.painresearchforum.org/forums/discussion/37588-sensitization-and-catastrophizing-introspection-confirmed-experimentally
Source: Psychology of Pain - Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Source Type: blogs