Journal of Pain Research (Sep 2023)
The Association Between the Patient Self-Report Survey for the Assessment of Fibromyalgia with Pain Sensitivity and Psychological Factors in Individuals with Musculoskeletal Pain
Abstract
Abigail T Wilson,1,2 Charlotte Razzell,2 William J Hanney1,2 1University of Central Florida, School of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health Professions and Sciences, Orlando, FL, USA; 2Musculoskeletal Research Lab, Institute of Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation Science, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USACorrespondence: William J Hanney, University of Central Florida, College of Health Professions and Sciences, Division of Physical Therapy, Health Sciences Building I, 12805 Pegasus Drive, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA, Tel +1 407-823-0217, Fax +1 407-823-3464, Email [email protected]: The Patient Self-Report Survey for the Assessment of Fibromyalgia may potentially be a method for subgrouping patients with musculoskeletal pain who have a nociplastic pain presentation. Limited research has explored the convergent validity of this questionnaire against psychophysical measures of pain sensitivity and psychological factors in individuals with musculoskeletal pain. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the strength of the association between total scores on the Patient Self-Report Survey for the Assessment of Fibromyalgia with clinical, pain sensitivity, and psychological factors.Patients and Methods: As a secondary analysis of a cross-sectional study, participants with shoulder (n = 20) or low back pain (n = 20) completed Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST), pain-related psychological questionnaires, and the Patient Self-Report Survey for the Assessment of Fibromyalgia. A Spearman correlation determined the association between total scores on the Patient Self Report Survey for the Assessment of Fibromyalgia with psychological factors and pain sensitivity behaviorally assessed with QST.Results: Negative psychological factors demonstrate moderate to strong positive associations with the Patient Self-Report Survey for the Assessment of Fibromyalgia (rho range = 0.36– 0.80), suggesting greater negative psychological factors were observed in patients with higher severity of fibromyalgia symptoms. Pain sensitivity factors demonstrated weak to moderate negative associations with The Patient Self-Report Survey for the Assessment of Fibromyalgia (PPT rho range=− 0.36- − 0.41), suggesting that elevated pain sensitivity was observed in individuals with higher severity of nociplastic pain symptoms.Conclusion: Collectively, this supports the convergent validity of the Patient Self-Report Survey for the Assessment of Fibromyalgia with psychological and pain sensitivity factors in patients with musculoskeletal pain.Keywords: pain measurement, pain threshold, nociplastic pain, central sensitization
