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Citation |
Lahav Y, Solomon Z, Siegel A, Tsur N, Defrin R. J. Pain 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub. |
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Affiliation |
Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Professions, Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sagol School of Neurosciences, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
31401209 |
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Abstract |
Trauma survivors may suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), elevated posttraumatic guilt (PG), and alterations in the pain system. However, the association between PG and alterations in pain perception and modulation among trauma survivors has not been established, nor has the possible underlying role of PG. This longitudinal study investigated: 1) the unique contribution of PG in predicting pain perception and modulation, while controlling for PTSD symptoms; and 2) the mediating role of PG in explaining pain perception and modulation among torture survivors, above and beyond PTSD symptoms. Participants were 59 torture survivors and 44 age-matched controls. PG and PTSD symptoms were assessed in 2003 (T1). Heat-pain threshold, heat-pain tolerance, temporal summation of pain (TSP) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) were measured five years later (T2). Torture survivors had elevated PG and PTSD symptoms, enhanced TSP, and reduced CPM, compared to controls. While PTSD predicted reduced pain tolerance and CPM, PG predicted increased pain tolerance. Moreover, PG mediated the associations between torture and (increased) pain threshold, pain tolerance, and TSP. It appears that PTSD and PG induce opposite effects on the pain modulation capacity of torture survivors, a dichotomy that may explain paradoxical pain responses among trauma survivors, as discussed. Perspective: This longitudinal study sheds light on the possible mechanisms underlying variations in pain perception and modulation among trauma survivors. PTSD and posttraumatic guilt each mediated opposing pain modulation profiles, suggesting that individual responses to trauma, rather than the trauma itself, influence pain responses. Language: en |
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Keywords |
Trauma; pain modulation; pain perception; posttraumatic guilt; posttraumatic stress disorder |