title: Fear of movement/(re)injury, avoidance and pain disability in chronic low back pain patients.
abstract: Chronic pain syndromes such as chronic low back pain are responsible for enormous costs for health care and society. For these conditions a pure biomedical approach often proves insufficient. Numerous studies have shown that there is little direct relationship between pain and disability and suggest that the biopsychosocial approach offers the foundations for a better insight in how pain can become a persistent problem. The main assumption is that pain and pain disability are not only influenced by organic pathology, if found, but also by psychological and social factors. In this contribution, a behavioural analysis of chronic musculoskeletal pain will be discussed, with special attention to the role of pain-related fear in the development and maintenance of chronic pain disability, and the behavioural rehabilitation perspective of chronic pain management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Clinical and Experimental Psychology, Maastricht University, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Vlaeyen
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crombez
mesh_terms: D001362:Avoidance Learning; D001519:Behavior; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004576:Electromyography; D005239:Fear; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires