Unravelling dystonic pain; a mixed methods survey to explore the language of dystonic pain and impact on life.

PURPOSE: Dystonia is a neurological disorder characterised by involuntary muscle contractions. Pain is the primary non-motor symptom, and limited studies have investigated how dystonic pain is experienced. This study aimed to investigate how people with isolated dystonia describe their pain and compare across subgroups of dystonia. METHODS: Anonymous online survey via social media asking participants to describe their pain in their own words, complete the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), and answer demographic questions. Thematic analysis identified common themes and frequencies were calculated for demographic and MPQ data. RESULTS: One-hundred and sixty-five respondents were included (mean age 51 years, 85% female). Thematic analysis identified four major themes "Physical sensations", "Temporal features", "Destruction", "Impact on life" with several sub-themes. The most chosen MPQ descriptor was "exhausting" followed by "tight," "sharp," "pulling," and "aching". The most common descriptors showed similar prevalence across subgroups of dystonia. CONCLUSION: As no objective tests for pain exist, pain sufferers must use language to describe their pain experience. People with isolated dystonia used sensory words combined with metaphorical language to detail temporal features of pain, as well as destructive internal battles or feelings of external forces acting upon them, and the significant toll pain has on everyday life. Implications for rehabilitationPain is a common and debilitating non-motor symptom for people living with dystonia and should be discussed in a persons treatment plan.Pain sufferers use language to discuss their pain experience with others and report they don't feel well understood by others including health professionals.People with dystonic pain commonly described physical sensations, temporal features, destructive forces, and the impact on life caused by their pain.Findings suggest the experience of pain with dystonia is varied and better pain management options for people with dystonia are needed.

Clinician experience of metaphor in chronic pain communication.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated clinician experience of patient use of metaphors in chronic pain communication. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with eighteen Australian clinicians working with chronic pain patients, age range 26-64 years (M=46.6), 50% female, experience working in chronic pain ranging from 2 to 27 years (M=11.16). RESULTS: Thematic Analysis yielded four key themes: Metaphor as communicative tool, Metaphor as clue, Metaphor as obstacle, and Metaphor use in treatment. Clinicians identified metaphor as an important tool for patients to communicate their pain experience, whilst acknowledging that it could at times be unhelpful to patients. Metaphor was seen to contain useful information for clinicians and possess utility in assessment and treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Metaphors play a significant role in chronic pain consultations, enabling clinician insight into pain type, psychopathology, and patient pain understanding. Metaphor in treatment phases may be underutilised. Clinicians should encourage patient metaphor use in chronic pain communication.

Psychological interventions for post stroke pain: A systematic review.

Chronic pain is prevalent after stroke and has a significant impact on quality of life. Research demonstrates the efficacy of psychological interventions for mixed chronic pain conditions. This review aimed to assess evidence on the effectiveness of psychological interventions for chronic pain in people with stroke. PubMed, PsychINFO, Embase, and CINAHL were searched from inception to 31 January 2021 at all levels of evidence. Psychological interventions assessing chronic pain in adults following stroke as a primary outcome were included. All outcomes related to pain quality were included (e.g., intensity, frequency, duration). Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal Checklist for Case Reports and Risk of Bias in N-of-1 Trials (RoBiNT) Scale. Three single n case reports were included. A narrative synthesis was performed, indicating that psychological interventions may reduce chronic post-stroke pain; however, overall quality appraisal of the included studies was poor, owing to the low internal validity found in the single-n case report designs. The limited evidence suggests that psychological interventions may have clinical utility in reducing chronic post-stroke pain. However, owing to the paucity and quality of studies found, the results must be treated with caution. More rigorous research is needed.

The Language of Pain: Is There a Relationship Between Metaphor Use and Adjustment to Chronic Pain?

OBJECTIVE: Metaphor, frequently used in chronic pain, can function as a communicative tool, facilitating understanding and empathy from others. Previous research has demonstrated that specific linguistic markers exist for areas such as pain catastrophizing, mood, as well as diagnostic categories. The current study sought to examine potential associations between the types of pain metaphors used and diagnostic category, disability, and mood. DESIGN: Online cross-sectional survey in Sydney, Australia. SUBJECTS: People with chronic pain (n = 247, age 19-78 years, M = 43.69). METHODS: The data collected included demographics, pain metaphors, the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales (DASS-21). Associations between metaphor source domains, obtained via Systematic Metaphor Analysis, and scores on the BPI, DASS-21, as well as diagnostic group were considered using binary logistic analysis. RESULTS: Use of different pain metaphors was not associated with pain intensity, however the extent to which pain interfered with daily life did have a relationship with use of metaphorical language. Preliminary support was found for an association between the use of certain pain metaphors and self-reported diagnostic categories, notably Endometriosis, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, and Neuropathic pain. CONCLUSIONS: There may be specific linguistic metaphorical markers to indicate pain interference and for particular diagnoses. Appreciation of pain metaphors has potential to facilitate communication and enhance understanding in interactions between clinicians and people with chronic pain.

The language of chronic pain.

OBJECTIVE: Pain is a universal phenomenon, but is also inherently private and subjective - there's no objective test for its existence. Sufferers rely on language to describe their pain experience. The McGill Pain Questionnaire paved the way for incorporating language into pain assessment and recent research has explored aspects of pain language such as metaphors and grammatical patterns. This study investigated how chronic pain sufferers use language to describe their pain experience. DESIGN: Three focus groups were conducted (N = 16, age 22-74 years, M = 46.6 years) with participants attending an outpatient chronic pain management program in Sydney, Australia. Participants were asked to describe aspects of their pain experience. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The language which participants utilized to talk about their pain experience. RESULTS: Thematic analysis identified five superordinate themes: Isolation, Physical Sensations of Pain, Pain Personified, Pain as Overwhelming, and Coping with Pain. Across themes, participants relied on metaphorical language, which reflects the complex, multidimensional aspects of pain as well as the desire to effectively communicate it to others. CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores research indicating the complexity of pain experience and hence pain language, and suggests that single word adjectival measures are inadequate to completely capture its complexity. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Chronic pain is now considered a disease in and of itself, with patient's pain language being an important study area due to the lack of objective tests for pain. In both assessment and rehabilitation, patients rely on metaphorical pain language in order to facilitate understanding and garner support from others. Pain metaphors may provide a useful target for interventions such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, particularly when addressing catastrophic thinking patterns.

'Barbed wire wrapped around my feet': Metaphor use in chronic pain.

OBJECTIVES: As there is no objective test for pain, sufferers rely on language to communicate their pain experience. Pain description frequently takes the form of metaphor; however, there has been limited research in this area. This study thus sought to extend previous findings on metaphor use in specific pain subgroups to a larger, heterogeneous chronic pain sample, utilizing a systematic method of metaphor analysis. DESIGN: Conceptual metaphor theory was utilized to explore the metaphors used by those with chronic pain via qualitative methodology. METHODS: An anonymous online survey was conducted which asked for the descriptions and metaphors people use to describe their pain. Systematic metaphor analysis was used to classify and analyse the metaphors used into specific metaphor source domains. RESULTS: Participants who reported chronic pain completed the survey (N = 247, age 19-78, M = 43.69). Seven overarching metaphor source domains were found. These were coded as Causes of Physical Damage, Common Pain Experiences, Electricity, Insects, Rigidity, Bodily Misperception, and Death and Mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Participants utilized a wide variety of metaphors to describe their pain. The most common descriptions couched chronic pain in terms of physical damage. A better understanding of pain metaphors may have implications for improved health care communication and provide targets for clinical interventions.