The Clinical journal of pain
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Clinical Trial
Screening to identify patients at risk: profiles of psychological risk factors for early intervention.
There is a serious need to provide effective early interventions that prevent the development of persistent pain and disability. Identifying patients at risk for this development is an important step. Our aim was to explore whether distinct subgroups of individuals with similar response patterns on a screening questionnaire exist. ⋯ Although the low risk profiles had virtually no one developing long-term sick leave, the Fear-Avoidant profile had 35% and the Distressed Fear-Avoidant profile 62% developing long-term sick leave. Our results suggest that fear-avoidance and distress are important factors in the development of pain-related disability and may serve as a key for early identification. Providing interventions specific to the factors isolated in the profiles should enhance the prevention of persistent pain and disability.