Time: 11:30 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
Location: Dental Sciences Building, Room D7-11
Pain invulnerability is an important consideration when examining the transition from acute to chronic pain. What differentiates the 90% of people who recover from an acute episode of low back pain from the 10% who don’t recover and develop chronic back pain? Previous research suggests that people with chronic pain are often depressed, hopeless, report physical disabilities and experience co-morbid pain conditions. Studying clinical pain populations provides important information about how people in pain respond to noxious stimuli, how they feel about and cope with pain, and how particular interventions may decrease their pain. A potential flaw with studying people with chronic pain, however, is studying a system that is already “broken”. Is it possible that people who develop chronic pain are already depressed and hopeless before their pain started? Or are these special issues that arise in the presence of pain? A better method of examining what makes someone vulnerable- and in turn, others invulnerable- to developing long-lasting pain might be to examine healthy individuals who experience pain regularly or by choice (e.g. occupation-related, elective surgery, menstrual cramps, other common musculoskeletal pains) but do not develop chronic pain. In this journal club, we will flip the lens from clinical pain conditions to healthy individuals and discuss factors that may help explain pain invulnerability. This is an interesting and clinically relevant topic that should generate a good discussion that will be led by Drs. Alappattu and Robinson.
Denk et al (2014) Pain Vulnerability & Resilience_Neurobiological Perspective
Smith et al (2009) Resilience & Purpose in Life in Response to Pain
Bozo et al (2009) Moderating Role of SocSupport on Optimism & PTG