Pain thresholds during standardized psychological stress in relation to perceived psychosocial work situation

https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(93)90039-IGet rights and content

Abstract

The hypothesis that perceived psychosocial work situation is associated with pain threshold was tested on a sample of 103 men and women aged 19–65yr in Stockholm. Half of the studied sample was a random sample of men (N = 26) and women (N = 31), while the remaining subjects were medical secretaries (women, N = 28) and furniture movers (N = 31). Pain thresholds were measured by means of an algometer before, during and after a standardized colour word test. The measurements were made on six different points in the neck and shoulder region. Before psychological stress in the laboratory, perceived psychological demands were significantly associated with pain threshold—the higher the demands the higher the pain threshold. During stress those who reported low decision latitude and high degree of sleep disturbance were shown to have a low pain threshold. The findings are consistent with the hypothesis that subjects with high demand levels have an elevated pain threshold when they are not under excessive psychological stress. During psychological stress, on the other hand, those with low decision latitude are more pain sensitive than others, and this is aggravated in those who also report a high degree of sleep disturbance.

References (18)

  • SF Maier et al.

    Controllability, coping behaviour and stress-induced analgesia in the rat

    Pain

    (1982)
  • M Feuerstein et al.

    Biobehavioral mechanisms of chronic low back pain

    Clin Psycho Rev

    (1987)
  • I Pilowsky et al.

    Sleep disturbance in pain clinic patients

    Pain

    (1985)
  • MC Battie

    The reliability of physical factors as predictors of the occurrence of back pain reports

  • T Theorell et al.

    Psychosocial job factors and symptoms from the locomotor system—a multicausal analysis

    Scand J Rehab Med

    (1991)
  • S Linton

    Risk factors for neck and back pain in a working population in Sweden

    Work and Stress

    (1990)
  • RA Karasek et al.

    Healthy Work

    (1990)
  • H Michelsen et al.

    Psychosocial Methods in the First Musculoskeletal Intervention Study in Stockholm (Swedish)

  • R Nordemar et al.

    Measurement of Pain Threshold in the First Musculoskeletal Intervention Study in Stockholm (Swedish)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (50)

  • Work-Related Musculo-Skeletal Disorders

    2012, Women and Health, Second Edition
  • The development of sensory hypoesthesia after whiplash injury

    2010, Clinical Journal of Pain
    Citation Excerpt :

    People with chronic WAD and other chronic neck pain conditions often show signs of psychological distress.1213 As psychological distress has been found to be a predictor of poor outcome5 and may potentially influence pain responses,1415 the Impact of Event Scale (IES)16 was administrated as a measure of posttraumatic stress symptoms. All participants completed the Neck Disability Index (NDI)17 to measure their self-perceived pain and disability levels.

View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text