The Impact of Varied Music Applications on Pain Perception and Situational Pain Catastrophizing.

We evaluated how pain processing and situational pain catastrophizing differed between 2 music interventions (Unwind and favorite music) and a control condition (white noise). Healthy adults (n = 70) completed quantitative sensory testing (QST) measuring pressure pain threshold (PPTh) and tolerance (PPTol), heat pain threshold (HPTh), offset analgesia (OA), temporal summation of pain (TSP), and conditioned pain modulation (CPM). Participants completed 3 QST rounds with the presence of white noise (control condition), a relaxing music app (Unwind), and their favorite music, which were presented in a randomized order. The Situational Pain Catastrophizing Scale was completed after each round. Friedman tests and post hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare pain processing and catastrophizing across the 3 conditions. Participants' PPTh, PPTol, and HPTh were significantly higher during the favorite music condition compared to the other 2 conditions, indicating lower pain sensitivity when listening to favorite music. In contrast, OA was lower in the favorite music condition. Although TSP and CPM were induced by the QST paradigm, these did not differ across the 3 conditions. Situational pain catastrophizing was also significantly lower during the favorite music condition. Several measures of pain sensitivity and situational pain catastrophizing were lower when listening to favorite music compared to relaxing music or white noise. More research is necessary to determine the mechanism(s) by which music modulates pain processing. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents evidence that participant-chosen favorite music can alter several aspects of nociceptive processing, including catastrophic thinking about pain, compared to white noise or relaxing music. Employing an individual's favorite music during episodic or procedural pain might represent a cost effective adjunctive analgesic strategy.

Introversion, Extraversion, and Worsening of Chronic Pain Impact during Social Isolation: A Mediation Analysis.

COVID-19 social distancing mandates increased social isolation, resulting in changes in pain severity and interference among individuals with chronic pain. Differences in personality (e.g., introversion/extraversion) may modulate responses to social isolation. We examined the influence of introversion on reported social distancing-related increases in pain interference and assessed for mediators of this relationship. Individuals with chronic pain (n = 150) completed validated questionnaires 4-8 weeks after implementation of social distancing mandates. Introversion/extraversion was measured using a subscale of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and changes in pain and psychosocial variables were calculated by comparing participants' recalled and current scores. Association between introversion/extraversion and other variables were assessed using linear regression. A parallel mediation was used to examine mediators of the association between introversion and change in pain interference. Higher introversion was associated with a decrease in pain interference after social distancing (Rho = - .194, p = .017). Parallel mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between introversion/extraversion and change in pain interference was mediated by changes in sleep disturbance and depression, such that higher introversion was associated with less isolation-induced sleep disruption and depression, and thereby less worsening of pain interference. These findings suggest that personality factors such as introversion/extraversion should be considered when personalizing treatment of chronic pain.

Early postoperative psychological distress as a mediator of subsequent persistent postsurgical pain outcomes among younger breast cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Younger age is a risk factor for worse pain outcomes following breast cancer surgery, yet little is known about how younger women's psychological state may contribute to their pain experience. Using prospectively collected longitudinal data from a surgical cohort, we examined whether early postoperative psychological distress at 2 weeks mediated the association between younger age and subsequent worse pain-related functioning 3 months after surgery. METHODS: Patients (N = 159) were recruited before breast cancer surgery into this longitudinal cohort study. Age at time of surgery, psychological distress (anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance) assessed 2 weeks postoperatively, and impact of surgical pain on cognitive/emotional functioning and physical functioning assessed 3 months postoperatively were used for analysis. RESULTS: Younger age was associated with greater depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance 2 weeks postoperatively. Younger age was also associated with greater ratings of pain impacting cognitive/emotional functioning and physical functioning 3 months postoperatively. The association between younger age and worse cognitive/emotional impact of pain was mediated by greater anxiety and sleep disturbance. Similarly, the association between younger age and worse physical impact of pain was mediated by greater sleep disturbance. CONCLUSION: The degree of anxiety and sleep disturbance that occur early after breast surgery may contribute to greater chronic pain-related functional disability among younger patients. Anxiety and sleep disturbance are modifiable with behavioral interventions, making them potential perioperative targets to improve long-term outcomes in young breast cancer survivors.

Loneliness and Pain Catastrophizing Among Individuals with Chronic Pain: The Mediating Role of Depression.

Purpose: Loneliness increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing guidelines, potentially exacerbating negative cognitions about pain. The present study investigated the longitudinal relationship between loneliness, assessed during the early weeks of the pandemic, and pain catastrophizing, assessed after living in the pandemic for approximately 1 year, among chronic pain patients. We also examined whether severity of depressive symptoms mediated this association. Methods: This prospective longitudinal study recruited individuals with chronic pain (N=93) from Massachusetts using an online convenience sampling method via the platform Rally. Participants completed an initial survey early after the onset of social distancing (4/28/20-6/17/20; Time 1) and a follow-up survey 1 year later (5/21/21-6/7/21; Time 2). Participants completed validated assessments of loneliness (T1), pain catastrophizing (T2), and depression (T2). Spearman correlations and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to explore associations among psychosocial, pain, and participant characteristics. A mediation analysis was conducted to test whether the association between loneliness and pain catastrophizing was mediated by depression. Results: Participants had a mean age of 40.6 years and were majority female (80%) and White (82%). Greater loneliness was associated with subsequent higher pain catastrophizing (b=1.23, 95% CI [0.03, 2.44]). Mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect (b=0.57, 95% CI [0.10, 1.18) of loneliness (T1) on catastrophizing (T2) through depression (T2) while accounting for several important covariates. The direct effect of loneliness on catastrophizing was no longer significant when depression was included in the model (b=0.66, 95% CI [-0.54, 1.87]). Conclusion: Findings suggest that greater loneliness during the pandemic was associated with higher pain catastrophizing 1 year later, and severity of depression after living in the pandemic mediated this association. As loneliness, depression, and catastrophizing can all be modified with behavioral interventions, understanding the temporal associations among these variables is important for the employment of future empirically supported treatments.

Applying the Rapid OPPERA Algorithm to Predict Persistent Pain Outcomes Among a Cohort of Women Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery.

Persistent postmastectomy pain after breast surgery is variable in duration and severity across patients, due in part to interindividual variability in pain processing. The Rapid OPPERA Algorithm (ROPA) empirically identified 3 clusters of patients with different risk of chronic pain based on 4 key psychophysical and psychosocial characteristics. We aimed to test this type of group-based clustering within in a perioperative cohort undergoing breast surgery to investigate differences in postsurgical pain outcomes. Women (N = 228) scheduled for breast cancer surgery were prospectively enrolled in a longitudinal observational study. Pressure pain threshold (PPT), anxiety, depression, and somatization were assessed preoperatively. At 2-weeks, 3, 6, and 12-months after surgery, patients reported surgical area pain severity, impact of pain on cognitive/emotional and physical functioning, and pain catastrophizing. The ROPA clustering, which used patients' preoperative anxiety, depression, somatization, and PPT scores, assigned patients to 3 groups: Adaptive (low psychosocial scores, high PPT), Pain Sensitive (moderate psychosocial scores, low PPT), and Global Symptoms (high psychosocial scores, moderate PPT). The Global Symptoms cluster, compared to other clusters, reported significantly worse persistent pain outcomes following surgery. Findings suggest that patient characteristic-based clustering algorithms, like ROPA, may generalize across diverse diagnoses and clinical settings, indicating the importance of "person type" in understanding pain variability. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents the practical translation of a previously developed patient clustering solution, based within a chronic pain cohort, to a perioperative cohort of women undergoing breast cancer surgery. Such preoperative characterization could potentially help clinicians apply personalized interventions based on predictions concerning postsurgical pain.

Impact of varying degrees of peripheral nerve blockade on experimental pressure and ischemic pain: adductor canal and sciatic nerve blocks in a human model of compartment syndrome pain.

INTRODUCTION: Early diagnosis of acute extremity compartment syndrome is crucial to timely surgical management. Pain is commonly used as an early diagnostic sign for acute extremity compartment syndrome, making regional anesthesia after lower extremity surgery controversial. This randomized study tested whether different concentrations of local anesthetics, or combinations of nerve blocks, would differentially impact the perception of acute extremity compartment syndrome-like pressure and ischemic pain. METHODS: Healthy volunteers underwent quantitative sensory testing, including determination of pressure pain thresholds and prolonged pressure/ischemic pain in the leg using a variable cuff inflation system. Subjects were randomized to receive (1) adductor canal block alone (ACB), (2) ACB with low-concentration sciatic nerve block (ACB +LC SNB), or (3) ACB with high-concentration SNB (ACB +HC SNB). For the primary outcome, we assessed block-induced increases in pressure threshold to reach 6/10 pain, and compared the degree of increase between the three groups. The main secondary outcome was a comparison of average pain score during a 5 min hold at the 6/10 pressure pain threshold between the three groups. RESULTS: All blocks raised pressure pain threshold and decreased ischemic pain, but to variable extents. Specifically, the amount the block increased pressure pain threshold was significantly different among ACB, ACB+LC SNB, and ACB+HC SNB groups (mean±SD: 24±32 mm Hg, 120±103 mm Hg, 159±93 mm Hg; p=0.002), with post hoc testing revealing ACB as less than the other two groups. Similarly, average pain scores during a prolonged/ischemic cuff hold differed among the groups (4.2±1.4, 1.4±1.7, 0.4±0.7; p<0.001), with post hoc testing revealing ACB as significantly higher. DISCUSSION: This study suggests the possible utility of titrating regional anesthesia, to provide some analgesia while still allowing acute extremity compartment syndrome detection. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04113954.

Profiles of Risk and Resilience in Chronic Pain: Loneliness, Social Support, Mindfulness, and Optimism Coming out of the First Pandemic Year.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals experience chronic pain differently, not only because of different clinical diagnoses, but also because of differing degrees of influence from biopsychosocial pain modulators. We aimed to cluster patients with chronic pain into distinct subgroups based on psychosocial characteristics and pain intensity, and we subsequently examined group differences in pain-related interference approximately 1 year later. METHODS: In this observational, longitudinal study, patients with chronic pain (n = 94) completed validated assessments of psychosocial characteristics and pain intensity at the beginning of COVID-19-related social distancing (April to June 2020). One year later (May to June 2021), patients completed a follow-up survey with assessments of pain interference, loneliness, social support, mindfulness, and optimism. RESULTS: A cluster analysis, using psychosocial factors and pain intensity, empirically produced three patient groups: 1) psychosocial predominant (PSP), characterized by high psychosocial distress and average pain intensity; 2) pain intensity predominant (PIP), characterized by average psychosocial distress and high pain intensity; and 3) less elevated symptoms (LES), characterized by low psychosocial distress and low pain intensity. At the 1-year follow-up, patients in the PSP and PIP clusters suffered greater pain interference than patients in the LES cluster, while patients in the PSP cluster also reported greater loneliness and lower mindfulness and optimism. CONCLUSIONS: An empirical psychosocial-based clustering of patients identified three distinct groups that differed in pain interference. Patients with high psychosocial modulation of pain at the onset of social distancing (the PSP cluster) suffered not only greater pain interference but also greater loneliness and lower levels of mindfulness and optimism, which suggests some potential behavioral targets for this group in the future.

Social Support and Psychological Distress among Chronic Pain Patients: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness.

Although an inverse relation between social support and psychological distress among chronic pain patients has been previously reported, little is known about what mediates this association. We examined mindfulness as a mediator of the relationship between social support and psychological distress. In this cross-sectional study, chronic pain patients (N=94) completed assessments of social support, mindfulness, and psychological distress. Greater social support was associated with less psychological distress. Greater mindfulness was associated with greater social support and less psychological distress. Mediation analyses demonstrated that mindfulness partially mediated the relationship between social support and psychological distress. Findings support and extend prior research by demonstrating a potentially important mediating effect of mindfulness within chronic pain patients. This suggests an important link between social support and mindfulness, and that their integration in the pursuit of mental health should be considered in future behavioral interventions.