Fear of pain could increase risk of multisite pain

Pain catastrophising and fear of pain might increase the risk of developing multisite pain following injury, says research due to be published in The Journal of Pain.
Experts looked at the value of pain catastrophising, fear of pain and depression in the prediction of multisite pain after delayed onset muscle soreness (ie pain induced in the laboratory). A total of 119 (63 women, 56 men) healthy university students took part in the study.
They found that people who catastrophised pain and were afraid of it were more likely to develop multisite pain.
Women were more likely to experience multisite pain than men. And there was no significant relation between depressive symptoms and multisite pain.
“The results of this experimental study suggest that pain catastrophizing and fear of pain might increase the risk of developing multisite pain following musculoskeletal injury,” the researchers conclude.
Image credit:  Rodrigo Senna