A new study published in Spine examines the transition from chronic localized low back pain to chronic widespread pain for a general practice.
The researchers examined chronic low back pain patients for six and 12 month periods for risk factors for chronic widespread pain. The researchers found:
1. About one-quarter of the patients with chronic low back pain experience chronic widespread pain. After about one year, the onset of chronic widespread pain was 23.8 percent.
2. The three risk factors for patients with chronic low back pain to report chronic widespread back pain were:
• Female sex
• Duration of back pain
• High rate of psychosomatic symptoms
3. The patient's coping resources and resilience didn't impact the transition from chronic low back pain to chronic widespread pain.
4. The researchers concluded that chronic widespread pain wasn't an independent entity, but a "particularly negative occurrence on the continuum of chronic pain."
5. The processes of somatization played a major role in developing chronic widespread pain.