Catastrophizing and Pain

When pain post SCI is refractory to pharmacological and surgical treatment, it is important to fully understand the negative impact of the patient’s psychosocial environment prior to undertaking more invasive approaches to treatment.

Giardino et al. (2003) noted that pain-related catastrophizing, or exaggerating the negative consequences of a situation, has been associated with greater pain intensity, emotional distress and functional disability in patients with chronic pain conditions and SCI. This was thought to provide partial support for a “communal coping” model of catastrophizing, where catastrophizing in persons with pain may function as a social communication directed toward obtaining social proximity, support or assistance.