Lumbar range of motion in chronic low back pain is predicted by task-specific, but not by general measures of pain-related fear

Thomas Matheve, Liesbet De Baets, Katleen Bogaerts, Annick Timmermans

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

62 Citations (Scopus)
14 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Most studies fail to show an association between higher levels of pain-related fear and protective movement behaviour in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). This may be explained by the fact that only general measures of pain-related fear have been used to examine the association with movement patterns. This study explored whether task-specific, instead of general measures of pain-related fear can predict movement behaviour.

METHODS: Fifty-five patients with CLBP and 54 healthy persons performed a lifting task while kinematic measurements were obtained to assess lumbar range of motion (ROM). Scores on the Photograph Daily Activities Series-Short Electronic Version (PHODA-SeV), Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia and its Activity Avoidance and Somatic Focus subscales were used as general measures of pain-related fear. The score on a picture of the PHODA-SeV, showing a person lifting a heavy object with a bent back, was used as task-specific measure of pain-related fear.

RESULTS: Lumbar ROM was predicted by task-specific, but not by general measures of pain-related fear. Only the scores on one other picture of the PHODA-SeV, similar to the task-specific picture regarding threat value and movement characteristics, predicted the lumbar ROM. Compared to healthy persons, patients with CLBP used significantly less ROM, except the subgroup with a low score on the task-specific measure of pain-related fear, who used a similar ROM.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest to use task-specific measures of pain-related fear when assessing the relationship with movement. It would be of interest to investigate whether reducing task-specific fear changes protective movement behaviour.

SIGNIFICANCE: This study shows that lumbar range of motion in CLBP is predicted by task-specific, but not by general measures of pain-related fear. This suggests that both in clinical practice and for research purposes, it might be recommended to use task-specific measures of pain-related fear when assessing the relationship with movement behaviour. This may help to disentangle the complex interactions between pain-related fear, movement and disability in patients with CLBP.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1171-1184
Number of pages14
JournalEuropean Journal of Pain (London, England)
Volume23
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2019

Bibliographical note

© 2019 European Pain Federation - EFIC®.

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Fear
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Low Back Pain/complications
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Movement
  • Pain Measurement
  • Phobic Disorders
  • Range of Motion, Articular

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