Assessment of Stress-Related Psychophysiological Reactions in Chronic Back Pain Patients

The relationship of paraspinal electromyogram (EMG) reactivity to personally relevant and general stress was compared among chronic back pain patients (CBP), non-back-pain patients, and healthy controls. Subjects participated in a psychophysiological assessment that included four trials (discussions...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 1985-06, Vol.53 (3), p.354-364
Main Authors: Flor, Herta, Turk, Dennis C, Birbaumer, Niels
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Aged
Arousal
Back Pain
Back Pain - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic Pain
Electromyography
Female
Human
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Muscles
Physiological Correlates
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Stress
Stress, Psychological - complications
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Summary:The relationship of paraspinal electromyogram (EMG) reactivity to personally relevant and general stress was compared among chronic back pain patients (CBP), non-back-pain patients, and healthy controls. Subjects participated in a psychophysiological assessment that included four trials (discussions of personal stress and pain, mental arithmetic, and reciting the alphabet). Paraspinal and frontalis EMG, heart rate, and skin resistance were recorded continuously. Psychological variables (e.g., depression and perceived control) were also assessed. Results indicate that CBP patients display elevations and delayed return to baseline only in their paravertebral musculature and only when discussing personally relevant stress. Neither of the other groups displayed similar response patterns. Abnormal muscular reactivity was best predicted by depression and manner of coping with pain rather than by organic variables. These results suggest that the assessment of stress-related responses may be important in the evaluation and treatment of CBP.
ISSN:0022-006X
1939-2117
DOI:10.1037/0022-006X.53.3.354