Six hundred thirty-five orthopedic patients who were consecutively referred to an
outpatient pain assessment service were grouped into one of five pain-duration categories:
0-3 mo, 4-6 mo, 7-9 mo, 9-12 mo, and more than 12 mo. Comprehensive psychosocial assessment
of the patients revealed that longer pain-duration patients are older, complain of
greater body surface in pain, have had more surgery, have been out of work longer,
report taking more pain medication, have been married more times, are more likely
to be involved in worker's compensation, and report a greater likelihood of current
suicidal ideation. In addition, patients with longer pain duration showed higher pain
intensity and sensitivity, less confidence in coping ability, higher dependency traits,
and greater reliability of self-report. Finally, longer pain duration was associated
with reports of more symptoms of psychopathologic disturbance, especially in patients
with pain durations from 9 to 12 mo. Because the data presented are correlation in
nature, prospective analysis of the psychosocial adjustment of orthopedic pain patients
is suggested.