Pain Catastrophizing and Fear of Pain predict the Experience of Pain in Body Parts not targeted by a Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness procedure

摘要

The present study examined whether pain catastrophizing and pain- related fear predict the experience of pain in body regions that are not targeted by an experimental muscle injury protocol. A delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS)-protocol was used to induce pain unilaterally in the pectoralis, serratus, trapezius, latisimus dorsi, and deltoid muscles. The day following the DOMS-protocol, participants were asked to rate their pain as they lifted weighted canisters with their targeted arm (i.e. injured) and their not-targeted arm. The lifting task is a non-noxious stimulus unless participants are already experiencing musculoskeletal pain. Therefore, reports of pain on the not-targeted arm were operationalized as pain in response to a non-noxious stimulus. Eighty-two (54 females, 28 males) healthy university students completed pain catastrophizing and fear of pain questionnaires and went through the DOMS-protocol. The analyses revealed that catastrophizing and pain-related fear prospectively predicted pain experience in response to a non-noxious stimulus. The possible mechanisms underlying this effect and clinical implications are discussed.