Body awareness and pain habituation: the role of orientation towards somatic signals.
Although body awareness and pain perception are considered to be parts of the interoceptive system, the relationship between them is unclear. This study examines the association between body awareness and pain habituation, hypothesizing that this association is moderated by pain catastrophizing and mindfulness. Sixty subjects received a mildly aversive electrical stimulus for 60 s, during which they were requested to rate the amount of perceived pain. Complete habituation was indicated by abolition of pain sensation; partial habituation was indicated by a decrease in pain sensation. Individuals who demonstrated complete habituation had lower levels of pain catastrophizing and lower levels of mindfulness. As hypothesized, the association between body awareness and pain habituation was moderated by pain catastrophizing: Among low pain catastrophizers, the higher the body awareness, the stronger the tendency to exhibit complete habituation. Among high pain catastrophizers, the higher the body awareness, the greater the likelihood to present partial habituation.
The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel. karnig@post.tau.ac.il.
Karni
K
Ginzburg
The Bob Shapell School of Social Work, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.|Psychology Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel.
Noga
N
Tsur
Department of Physical Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Carmel
C
Karmin
Department of Physical Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Tali
T
Speizman
Department of Physical Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ricki
R
Tourgeman
Department of Physical Therapy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.|Sagol School of Neurosciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Ruth
R
Defrin
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D058443:Catastrophization; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D065812:Interoception; D008297:Male; D064866:Mindfulness; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D055815:Young Adult
Body awareness; Mindfulness; Pain catastrophizing; Pain habituation