Chronic pelvic pain portraits: perceptions and beliefs of 80 women

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Because of its expressive prevalence and difficult clinical management, chronic pelvic pain is an important cause of morbidity, disability, and reduction of quality of life in women. Psychological factors influence the perception of pain and can interfere in the medical approach, justifying the application of projective tools, such as the pain portrait, previously not applied in women with chronic pelvic pain. The objective of this study was to obtain a greater clarification about the psychological component in the assessment of the chronic pelvic pain by applying the pain portrait in women with chronic pelvic pain. METHODS: This is an exploratory cross-sectional study conducted with 80 women with chronic pelvic pain. It was applied a pre-structured interview to collect sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical data. The pain portrait was applied to investigate the perceptions and beliefs about pain. The drawings were classified by content analysis and consensus among the authors. RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 39.40±9.21 years, average pain intensity of 7.03±2.58 and average pain duration of 8.84±7.65 years. The main portraits referred to negative feelings (37.50%), harmful instruments (33.75%) and geometric forms (25%), with a predominance of cold colors (63.70%). More than 60% of the participants put hope only in medical procedures, while 25% believed that there was no solution to their pain. CONCLUSION: Women represented their chronic pelvic pain in an affective way, with the use of few and cold colors. They considered themselves having a passive role in their treatment and related their pain to family losses.

Catastrophic thinking and functional disability in Primary Health Care chronic pain patients

“…The therapeutic management of these individuals must comprise, besides pharmacological treatment, the treatment of mental health, due to the increase of psychomorbidities 29 . The maintenance of an optimistic and resilient attitude improves the adaptation to CP and reduces hypersensitivity 30 . Studies 20,31,32 show that the adjunct non-pharmacological approach, through educational actions directed to self-management of pain, contribute to the more resilient attitude towards CP and the reduction of drug use.…”

Current Challenges in the Management of Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women: From Bench to Bedside

“… 66 Nevertheless, pain has psycho-affective components and in many cases the true extent of suffering experienced by a woman with CPP is not registered if only the VAS is used. 71 Graphic representation of pain using either shapes or colors can be a strategy for registering its psycho-affective component. Drawings illustrating negative feelings, harmful instruments and a predominance of cold colors (those from the blue-green spectrum, neutral colors and the grey spectrum) have been described in the literature.…”

“…Drawings illustrating negative feelings, harmful instruments and a predominance of cold colors (those from the blue-green spectrum, neutral colors and the grey spectrum) have been described in the literature. 71 The McGill Pain Questionnaire, although extensive, could be particularly useful in certain situations, since the descriptors of pain help legitimize the symptom experienced by the women. 72 …”

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation combined with Physiotherapy in the control of Chronic Pelvic Pain: a case report

“…Additionally, sociocultural and environmental factors can also influence CPP. 2 Pelvic pain can originate from an inflammatory, infectious, or anoxic process, and it can also be the consequence of some type of trauma that can be resolved with therapeutic interventions. This vicious cycle can lead to limitations and physical deconditioning, loss of functional capacity, as well as cause fear, anxiety and distress, which can lead the patient to social isolation and mood changes, impacting quality of life.…”