Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2004 , Vol 50 , Num 5

Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Pain Related Disability and Psychological Distress

Nil ÇAĞLAR 1 ,Gail Walden 2 ,Meltem Esenyel 3 ,Cem Zeki Esenyel 4 ,Sevgi Tetik 5 ,Erhan Emel 6
1 Clinic of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İstanbul Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey
2 University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Texas, USA
3 SSK Vakıf Gureba Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Kliniği, İstanbul
4 SSK Vakıf Gureba Eğitim Hastanesi, Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji Kliniği,İstanbul
5 Vakıf Gureba Teaching Hospital, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İstanbul
6 Vakıf Gureba Eğitimve Araştırma Hastanesi, Nöroşirurji Kliniği, İstanbul

The aim of this study was to determine the presence and severity of pain related disability, depression and anxiety in some musculoskeletal system disorders which commonly cause chronic pain. 485 patients, who fulfilled the required criteria, were assigned in one of the five groups, namely, myofascial pain syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome, generalized osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis and lumbar disc herniations. Visual analog scale, pain disability index, short form of Beck depression inventory and Taylor manifest anxiety scale were used. Significantly higher scores for pain intensity, depression and pain related disability were detected in fibromyalgia syndrome patients (p<0.05), whereas significantly higher scores for anxiety was detected in the lumbar disc herniation group of patients (p<0.05) when compared to other groups. In conclusion, the nature of the disease causing chronic pain seems to play a major role in psychological distress and disability related to pain; and the people with higher depression levels are more likely to have widespread pain, pain disability index seems to be a very practical way of assessing pain related disability in chronic pain patients, in which the symptoms may exceed the observable signs of a physical disability in some diseases causing chronic pain such as fibromyalgia syndrome.

Keywords : Chronic pain, depression, anxiety, pain related disability