Performance and nonperformance strategies for coping with acute pain: The role of perceived self-efficacy, expected outcomes, and attention

Assessment of psychological pain management techniques: a comparative study between athletes and non-athletes

“…Due to the indisputable mental component of pain, such techniques, known as "coping strategies", have been broadly mentioned in the literature as effective to reduce and manage pain [9][10][11] . These techniques can be used for acute and chronic pain, and there are a number of classifications for them [14][15][16][17][18] . Haythornwaite et al 18 defined these techniques as "an attempt to deal with or manage a specific stressor, in this case, pain, and they can be behavioral or cognitive".…”

“…Other concepts stress the emotional aspects of pain, particularly anxiety and stress, on the perception of pain. In this sense, relaxing techniques are used with the purpose of decreasing the stress caused by the sensation of pain, decreasing pain and enhancing tolerance 14 . Behavioral techniques focus on shifting behavior in an attempt to manage or minimize pain.…”

The effects of imagery and sensory detection distractors on different measures of pain: How does distraction work?

“…Three more recent studies have produced equivocal results. Williams & Kinney (1991) argued that their video game distraction task was more effective than either verbal-imagining distraction or relaxation because it placed stronger demands on attention. In contrast, both Hodes, Howland, Lightfoot & Cleeland (1990) and McCaul, Monson & Maki (1992) found pain perception was not altered differentially by distraction tasks that differed in their difficulty.…”

Postoperative patient-controlled analgesia (PCA): How much control and How much analgesia?

“…The authors pointed to the measurement problem caused by the complex interdependence between the two pain measures: by tolerating the pain stimulus for a longer time, subjects endure more pain, which may attenuate differences in self-reported pain. In another laboratory study, pain reports correlated positively with pain tolerance (Williams and Kinney, 1991), suggesting that tolerance was causing pain rather than pain causing intolerance. We therefore suggest that our finding of higher pain reports among PCA patients be interpreted as a by-product of their higher pain tolerance.…”