title: An experimental approach to examining psychological contributions to multisite musculoskeletal pain.
abstract: The present study examined the prospective value of pain catastrophizing, fear of pain, and depression in the prediction of multisite musculoskeletal pain following experimentally induced delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). The study sample consisted of 119 (63 females, 56 males) healthy university students. Measures of pain catastrophizing, fear of pain, and depression were completed prior to the DOMS induction procedure. Analyses revealed that pain catastrophizing and fear of pain prospectively predicted the experience of multisite pain following DOMS induction. Analyses also revealed that women were more likely to experience multisite pain than men. There was no significant relation between depressive symptoms and the experience of multisite pain. The discussion addresses the mechanisms by which pain catastrophizing and fear of pain might contribute to the spreading of pain. Clinical implications of the findings are also addressed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this experimental study suggest that pain catastrophizing and fear of pain might increase the risk of developing multisite pain following musculoskeletal injury.
authors.affiliation: Center of Excellence Generalization Research, Research Group Health Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nils Georg
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Niederstrasser
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Ohio, Athens, Ohio.
authors.forename: P Maxwell
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Slepian
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Tsipora
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mankovsky-Arnold
authors.affiliation: Occupational Health and Safety, Research Institute Robert-Sauvé, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Larivière
authors.affiliation: Center of Excellence Generalization Research, Research Group Health Psychology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Vlaeyen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: Michael.sullivan@mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Michael J L
authors.initials: MJL
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D058443:Catastrophization / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Multisite pain; catastrophizing; depression; fear of pain; fibromyalgia; sex differences