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Investigating the transition from chronic low back or neck pain to widespread pain and fibromy[a]lgia

Year: 2009
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objectives: Emerging evidence suggests that chronic low back pain, chronic neck pain, widespread pain (WSP), and fibromyalgia (FM) share a common underlying mechanism, namely central sensitization. Research demonstrates that a majority of individuals with WSP and FM and some people with chronic low back or neck pain (termed chronic regional spinal pain, CRSP) exhibit altered pain processing which is characteristic of the neuroplastic changes of central sensitization. Perhaps due to this shared pathophysiology, recent studies have demonstrated that a subset of individuals with chronic low back or neck pain develop WSP and/or FM over time. Less clear are the specific risk factors that predispose a person with chronic low back or neck pain to the development of these widespread pain disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency with which patients with chronic low back or neck pain develop WSP or FM and to determine the risk factors which place a person at risk for this transition. Knowing the predictive factors for the development of WSP and FM in patients with CRSP is critical in that numerous studies have demonstrated that WSP and FM are associated with more severe clinical outcomes as compared to CRSP. Identifying a group of patients with CRSP who are at a higher risk of developing WSP or FM would provide an opportunity for the nursing and medical community to intervene in this downward trajectory. Methods: 2,256 patients previously seen by a multidisciplinary pain clinic in 2001 or 2002 for evaluation and treatment of a chronic low back or neck pain disorder were invited to participate in this study in 2007. The researchers used data collected on two questionnaires, one completed by the patients in 2001 or 2002 and one sent to them by the study team in 2007. Predictive factors investigated in this study fell broadly into three categories; features thought to influence the development of central sensitization, risk
DOI: 10.6083/m4k0727q
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2468662240
FWCI:
Cites: 149
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Related to: 10