Pain
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Comorbidity of pain and posttraumatic stress disorder is well recognized, but the reason for this association is unclear. This study investigated the direction of the relationship between pain and traumatic stress and the role that pain-related fear plays, for patients with acute whiplash-associated disorder. Participants (n = 99) used an electronic diary to record hourly ratings of pain, traumatic stress, and fear of pain (FOP) symptoms over a day. ⋯ Differences between this study and others that reported mutual maintenance can be understood in terms of different stages of whiplash-associated disorder and different intervals between repeated measurements. Traumatic stress may affect pain over longer time intervals than measured in this study. Future research could explore how relationships between traumatic stress symptoms, pain, and FOP change over time, and whether previous experiences of traumatic stress influence these relationships.