The relationship between pain and psycholocical and cognitive status in patients with acute low back pain: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Aim: Low back pain can lead to depression and anxiety as a result of reduced quality of life. Also, catastrophizing can aggravate the pain. Therefore, we aim to investigate the relationship between the severity of acute low back pain and the psychological states of the patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 168 patients of both genders who applied to the Neurosurgery Outpatient Clinic at the Recep Tayyip Erdogan University Training and Research Hospital between December 2020 and February 2021. Pain severity was assessed with the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS), pain catastrophizing by pain catastrophizing scale (PCS). While evaluating depression and anxiety, beck depression inventory (BDI) and beck anxiety inventory (BAI) were used, respectively.

Results: A statistically significant difference was found in the variance analysis of pain intensity and catastrophizing according to depression symptoms (p<0.001). It was also observed that the difference in pain severity and catastrophizing according to anxiety symptoms was statistically significant (p<0.001). There was a statistically significant correlation among the BDI, BAI, NPRS and PCS (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The findings of our study showed that there is a significant relationship between anxiety, depression, and catastrophizing, and low back pain. Therefore, it is important to consider the psychological state of the patient during the treatment process.