title: Paraspinal EMG and autonomic reactivity of patients with back pain and controls to personally relevant stress.
abstract: The reactivity of surface paraspinal EMG was contrasted among groups of (1) patients seeking treatment for chronic back pain, (2) nonpatients reporting chronic back pain, and (3) healthy controls. The EMG response to the personally relevant stressor (all stimuli were 1 min.) tasks was greater for the patient group relative to the other two groups. However, the patients' magnitude of response elicited by the control task was nearly equal to that of the personally relevant task, suggesting that the task demand to "describe a recent event" may be the "personally relevant" stressor component rather than the emotional valence attached to the content of that description.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center.
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: DeGood
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dale
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal / Q000502:physiology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010551:Personality