The Relationship Between Fear-avoidance Beliefs in Employees with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Work Productivity: A Longitudinal Study

Impact of Psychological Resilience on the Fear of Pain and Activity Recovery in Postsurgical Patients: Observational Cohort Study

Background

The fear of pain (FOP) and fear avoidance belief (FAB) play a crucial role in the occurrence and development of chronic pain. However, the dynamics of these factors in postsurgical pain appear to differ, with the FOP often learned from others rather than directly caused by painful experiences. Psychological resilience refers to an individual's capacity to adapt effectively to adversity, challenges, and threats, and may play a significant role in overcoming the FOP and avoidance behavior.

Objective

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of psychological resilience in overcoming the FOP and avoidance behavior among surgical patients undergoing lung surgery.

Methods

Participants were recruited at the Wuhan Union Hospital. Psychological resilience was measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. The FOP was assessed using the simplified Chinese version of the Fear of Pain-9 items. The FAB was measured using the Physical Activity subscale of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire. Activity recovery was assessed through questions related to social activities and household responsibilities. The adaptive least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) regression analysis under nested cross-validation was used to identify key factors affecting postoperative FOP and activity recovery.

Results

A total of 144 participants were included in the final analysis. The results showed that preoperative FOP (coefficient=8.620) and FAB (coefficient=8.560) were mainly positively correlated with postoperative FOP, while psychological resilience (coefficient=-5.822) and age (coefficient=-2.853) were negatively correlated with it. These average R2 of these models was 73% (SD 6%). Psychological resilience was the most important factor in predicting activity recovery, and these models obtained an average accuracy of 0.820 (SD 0.024) and an average area under the curve of 0.926 (SD 0.044).

Conclusions

Psychological resilience was negatively associated with the postoperative FOP and positively with activity recovery in patients who underwent lung surgery. Patients with higher resilience are more likely to cope effectively with postsurgical pain and recover activities sooner. These findings highlight the importance of assessing and potentially enhancing psychological resilience in the perioperative period to improve postoperative outcomes.

The persian version of the fear-avoidance beliefs questionnaire among iranian post-surgery patients: a translation and psychometrics

INTRODUCTION

Fear-avoidance beliefs (FAB) play a crucial role in the treatment outcomes of post-surgery patients. These beliefs can lead to activity avoidance, increased pain, and decreased quality of life. Therefore, accurately measuring these beliefs in Iranian patients is of significant importance. The Fear-Avoidance Belief Questionnaire (FABQ) is a patient-reported questionnaire that evaluates individuals' FAB. Since the validity and reliability of the Persian version of FABQ (FABQ-P) have not been assessed based on the Iranian population and sociocultural contexts, the current study has been implemented to determine the reliability and validity of the FABQ-P among Iranian post-operative patients by translation and psychometric properties.

METHODS

This methodological study conducted in 2023, a sample of 400 patients who had undergone surgery were selected using a convenience sampling method. The scale used in the study was translated and its psychometric properties were evaluated through network analysis and assessments of construct validity (including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis), convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Additionally, the study assessed the internal consistency of the scale.

RESULTS

The MLEFA results with Promax and Kaiser Normalization rotation yielded two factors explaining 57.91% of the variance, encompassing 13 items. Also, the model was approved by CFA. Convergent and discriminant validity have been confirmed through the following criteria: Average Variance Extracted (AVE) exceeding 0.5, Composite Reliability (CR) surpassing 0.7, and Heterotrait-Monotrait Ratio of Correlations (HTMT) equating to 0.597. As for reliability, Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability (CR), and MaxR for all constructs were greater than 0.7, demonstrating good internal consistency.

CONCLUSION

As demonstrated by the results, the FABQ-P has a satisfactory level of reliability along with authentic validity according to the sociocultural contexts of Iranian post-operative patients.

The association between kinesiophobia and functional limitations in service members with knee pain

BACKGROUND

Knee diagnoses account for more than 50% of lower extremity musculoskeletal conditions in non-deployed US Service members. However, there is limited information regarding kinesiophobia in Service members with non-operative knee diagnoses.

HYPOTHESES

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of high levels of kinesiophobia in US military Service members with knee pain across different knee diagnoses, and to determine the relationships between kinesiophobia and lower extremity function and/or specific functional limitations in Service members with knee pain. It was hypothesized Service members with knee pain would exhibit high levels of kinesiophobia across all knee diagnoses examined, and higher levels of both kinesiophobia and pain would be associated with worse self-reported function in this population. It was also hypothesized higher levels of kinesiophobia would be associated with functional activities with high knee loading.

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

IV.

METHODS

Sixty-five US Service members presenting to an outpatient physical therapy clinic were included in this study (20 females; age = 30.8 ± 7.7 years; height = 1.74 ± 0.9 m; mass = 80.7 ± 16.2 kg). Inclusion criterion was the presence of knee pain (duration = 50 ± 59 months); exclusion criterion was knee pain as a sequela of knee surgery. Data regarding demographic, pain chronicity, pain by Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), and Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS) were retrospectively obtained from patients' medical records. A high level of kinesiophobia was defined as a TSK score of greater than 37 points. Patient diagnoses included: osteoarthritis (n = 16); patellofemoral pain syndrome (n = 23); and other non-operative knee diagnoses (n = 26). Commonality analysis was utilized to determine the effects of age, height, mass, NRS, and TSK on LEFS score. Predictor values were interpreted as <1% = negligible, >1% = small; >9% = moderate, >25% = large. Additionally, exploratory item-specific analyses examined the strength of the relationships between kinesiophobia and LEFS item responses. Binary logistic regression determined if difficulty with an individual LEFS item could be predicted from either NRS or TSK score. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS

High levels of kinesiophobia were identified in 43 individuals (66%). NRS and TSK explained 19.4% and 8.6% of the unique variance in LEFS, and 38.5% and 20.5% of total variance, respectively. Age, height, and mass explained negligible to small proportions of the unique variance in LEFS. TSK and NRS were independent predictors for 13/20 individual LEFS items, with odds ratios ranging from 1.12 to 3.05 (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The majority of US Service members in this study exhibited high levels of kinesiophobia. Kinesiophobia was significantly related to self-reported functional scores and performance on individual functional tasks in Service members with knee pain.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Treatment strategies addressing both fear of movement and pain reduction in patients with knee pain may help optimize functional outcomes.

Longer working hours and musculoskeletal pain: a meta-analysis

Objectives. Musculoskeletal pain is the most common health problem in the workplace, and one of the most important risk factors for this pain is longer working hours. This study aimed to investigate the association between long working hours and musculoskeletal pain. Methods. Based on the keywords, two scientific sources - PubMed and Embase - were reviewed. The time limit search included articles that were published until May 2020 and only studies published in English were eligible. The results of the studies were combined based on random effects and pooled odds ratio (OR) reported. The degree of heterogeneity in all analyses was investigated and reported based on χ2 and I2 tests. Publishing bias was also measured using statistical tests. Results. Longer working hours are associated with increased musculoskeletal pain with OR = 1.11 and 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.08, 1.14]. The result was OR = 1.52 and 95% CI [1.14, 2.03] in men and OR = 1.11 and 95% CI [1.00, 1.24] in women. Conclusion. Long working hours are an important and threatening factor for musculoskeletal health. Therefore, this issue should be considered in health policy as well as treatment and prevention.

Does difficulty in chewing induce subjective musculoskeletal symptoms? A case-control study

OBJECTIVES

Risk factors associated with the development of musculoskeletal disorders and symptoms remain an important issue worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between oral health problems such as difficulty chewing and the occurrence of stiff neck/shoulders (SN/S) and low back pain (LBP).

DESIGN

Case-control study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

This study was conducted from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2020. The subjects were 77 341 workers among 646 281 workers from several employers in Japan.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Participants were asked to evaluate their subjective SN/S and LBP symptoms using a self-administered questionnaire.

METHODS

We defined the chewing condition using a questionnaire, and workers who responded with 'I can chew anything' were classified as the good condition group (GCG), and those who responded with 'Sometimes I have difficulty chewing due to problems with the teeth, gums, or bite' or 'I can hardly chew' were classified as the poor condition group (PCG). Setting the year 2018 as the baseline, we performed a logistic regression model using propensity score and inverse probability weighting (IPW) methods and chewing condition groups as explanatory variables and SN/S and LBP as objective variables.

RESULTS

The IPW-adjusted logistic regression model showed that the OR of SN/S was approximately 1.25 (95% CI 1.17 to 1.33) times higher in the PCG than that in the GCG (p<0.001). Similarly, the OR of LBP was about 1.37 (95% CI 1.27 to 1.48) times higher in the PCG than that in the GCG in the IPW-adjusted logistic regression model (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that the occurrence of SN/S and LBP symptoms in workers could be predicted depending on the presence of difficulty in chewing. Therefore, oral health and health guidance are gaining importance for the prevention of subjective musculoskeletal symptoms.