The Role of Relationship Quality and Perceived Partner Responses with Pain and Disability in Those with Back Pain

Abstract

ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to investigate the associations of key constructs of relationship quality (cohesion, consensus, and satisfaction) and perceived partner responses to pain behavior (e.g., solicitous and negative responses) with the outcomes of pain and disability in those with long-term low back pain, and to explore the role of the patient's depressive symptom mood state on those associations.MethodsSelf-report questionnaires on pain intensity, disability, relationship quality, perceived partner reactions to pain, and depressive symptoms were collected from participants (N = 174) taking part in a longitudinal study on low back pain within a primary care sample.ResultsParticipants reporting more consensus (e.g., agreement about sexual intimacy, level of affection) in their relationships had significantly higher pain intensity (P = 0.03), and solicitous partner responses (P = 0.04) were significantly positively associated with disability levels. However, the findings for pain intensity were only present in those with higher levels of depression, while the association of solicitous responses with disability was only significant in those with lower levels of depression, indicating a suppression effect of depression on pain and disability.ConclusionsDepressive symptoms play a significant role in determining the associations between relationship quality, perceived partner reactions, and pain and disability. The relationship construct of consensus and perceived solicitous responses were associated with pain and disability. These findings illustrate the importance of social context and patient mood state on the outcomes for those with low back pain.

Sexual function and associated factors in Iranian patients with chronic low back pain

“…There is an emerging growth of research that shows the inclusion of partners within treatment paradigms for chronic pain patients can be beneficial. 21 One key factor in having a supportive partner is the level of intimacy and empathy shown, 22 and it could be argued that the sexual union between partners, or lack of it as appears the case for those with CLBP, could be an important determinant of this social influence. Clinicians do routinely assess the impact CLBP has on their patient; our research suggests inquiry on the possible disruption of sexual activity due to CLBP may be a worthwhile additional question to highlight a potentially important psychosocial influence.…”

Effects of workplace, family and cultural influences on low back pain: What opportunities exist to address social factors in general consultations?

“…This is likely a reciprocal relationship, as LBP can also disrupt family roles and responsibilities, cause stress to family relationships and compromise levels of support. While there is evidence of a detrimental consequence of LBP on marital satisfaction, partner emotions and relationship quality [34], there are also beneficial effects of spousal support on LBP coping and function [34,35]. Most of the research on family support and LBP has focussed on' spousal 'communication and emotional support, with a focus on operantconditioning models whereby pain behaviour elicits a communicative interpretation and reaction from partners, and this either reinforces or extinguishes pain behaviours [34,[36][37][38].…”

Correlation of low back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis and depression in women: a clinical study

“…The correlation between spinal stenosis associated LBP and depression is not easy to establish due to ambiguous cause and result relationship.Depression symptoms may be caused by pain; however, in some cases depression increases the existing pain and gives way to anxiety associated with depression [6,7]. Lautenbacher et al [8] have presented that women are more sensitive to pain however, medical treratment is more effective in female patients [9].…”