Trait and state anxiety as factors of threshold and tolerance to experimentally induced pain

Abstract

Pain is an experience that has physical, psychological and social aspects. Sensitivity to pain is individual and depends on psychological factors. Studies have shown that anxiety is associated with the perception of experimentally induced pain. PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study is to examine the relationship between anxiety, threshold and tolerance to experimentally induced pain in healthy persons. METHODS: 35 healthy persons at the age from 19 to 39, 20 women and 15 men were examined. Methods: Spielberger’s questionnaire, Cold pressor test, Visual Analog Scale for Pain, Descriptive statistics, Correlation analysis, Mann-Whitney’s Test. RESULTS: Significant differences in tolerance to pain were identified depending on the levels of state anxiety (U=12.5, Р=0.037). The state anxiety was greatly related to the intensity of the pain experienced. (Spearman rho=0.49, P=0.008). Significant differences were not found in threshold, tolerance and intensity of pain depending on the levels of trait anxiety in the examined people. CONCLUSIONS: The increased levels of state anxiety in healthy persons exposed to experimentally induced pain suggest a weaker endurance to pain and perceiving it as stronger.

Keywords

• cold pressor test
• pain threshold
• pain tolerance
• state and trait anxiety