Pain sensitivity can be assessed by self-rating: Development and validation of the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire

Abstract

Experimental determination of pain sensitivity has received increasing attention because of emerging clinical applications (including prediction of postoperative pain and treatment response) and scientific implications (e.g. it has been proposed that above-average pain sensitivity is a risk factor for the development of chronic pain disorders). However, the use of experimental pain sensitivity assessment on a broad scale is hampered by its requirements on time, equipment and human resources and the fact that it is painful for the tested subject. Alternatives to experimental pain testing are currently lacking. Here we developed a self-rating instrument for the assessment of pain sensitivity, the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ) that is based on pain intensity ratings of daily life situations and takes 5-10min to complete. Adequate reliability of the PSQ was confirmed in 354 subjects. In a validation study comprising 47 healthy subjects, the results of comprehensive experimental pain testing, including different modalities (heat, cold, pressure, and pinprick) and different measures (pain thresholds, pain intensity ratings), were compared to the results of the PSQ. PSQ scores were significantly correlated to experimental pain intensity ratings (r = 0.56, p < 0.001) but not to pain thresholds (r = 0.03). Prediction of experimental pain intensity ratings by the PSQ was better than by pain-associated psychological factors (pain catastrophizing, depression, anxiety). This shows that the PSQ may be a simple alternative to experimental pain intensity rating procedures in healthy subjects and makes the PSQ a highly promising tool for clinical and experimental pain research.

Assessment and manifestation of central sensitisation across different chronic pain conditions

“…Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Central Sensitivity Index (CSI), have been developed (Ruscheweyh et al, 2009;Mayer et al, 2012;Nijs et al, 2014) to assess various aspects of the clinical pain perceived. Significant correlations have been observed between PSQ scores and pain intensity Figure 1 A schematic illustration of how the different sensitisation processes may contribute to the assessed pain reaction (pain threshold).…”

“…ratings (Ruscheweyh et al, 2009;Sellers et al, 2013) but possible associations to CS as assessed by experimental measures have not yet been established. The painDETECT questionnaire has been developed as a neuropathic screening tool for assessing neuropathic components in chronic musculoskeletal pain, such as chronic LBP (Freynhagen et al, 2006) and OA (Hochman et al, 2013), but it is not specifically useful for neuropathic pain conditions with sensory loss (Vollert et al, 2016).…”

The Cohen–Hoberman inventory of physical symptoms: Factor structure, and preliminary tests of reliability and validity in the general population

“…This study has also shown that the subjective distress from physical symptoms is only weakly associated with levels of pain sensitivity, suggesting that the number of health complaints people will report is not simply due to individual biological factors involved in tolerance to discomfort (Ruscheweyh et al, 2009). As levels of perceived stress and anxiety were found to be associated with some but not all of the factors it is evident that individual psychological and environmental concepts can play a role in the perception of one's physical symptoms.…”

“…The pain sensitivity questionnaire (PSQ; Ruscheweyh et al, 2009) was used to assess pain tolerance. The PSQ comprises 17 items (3 of which are filler items) and each item describes a situation in which one may feel pain.…”

(169) Development of the Sensory Hypersensitivity Scale (SHS): a self-report tool for assessing sensitivity to sensory stimuli

“…Several questionnaires have been developed that measure different aspects of sensitivity, but none to our knowledge focus on widespread physical sensory sensitivity. Some tools focus on only one sensory modality, such as pain (Ruscheweyh et al, 2009(Ruscheweyh et al, , 2012. Other tools, such as the Highly Sensitive Persons Scale (Aron & Aron, 1997a), comparatively place a larger emphasis on emotionality and introversion.…”