Pain
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Sixty-two chronic low back pain patients were administered the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) to assess the frequency of use and perceived effectiveness of a variety of cognitive and behavioral pain coping strategies. Analysis of individual variables revealed that CSQ factors, gender, physical examination findings, and chronicity of pain had significant effects on one or more of a series of pain, psychological distress or behavioral measures. To assess the relative contribution of each of these variables hierarchical stepwise regression analyses were carried out. ⋯ Patients scoring high on this factor had higher scores on the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Coping strategies were not strongly related to pain behavior measures such as guarding or uptime. A consideration of pain coping strategies may allow one to design pain coping skills training interventions so as to fit the needs of the individual low back pain patient.
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In epidemiologic research on chronic pain, differentiation of recurrent, persistent and disabling pain states is critical in the investigation of burden, natural history, effective intervention and causal processes. We report population-based data concerning the development and evaluation of a graded classification of pain status. ⋯ The presence of severe and persistent pain increased the likelihood of multiple indicators of pain dysfunction, but there was considerable heterogeneity in pain dysfunction among persons with comparable pain experience. Our data suggest grading chronic pain in terms of 3 axes: time (persistence); severity; and impact (disability and dysfunctional illness behaviors).