Acupuncture and chronic pain mechanisms: The moderating effects of affect, personality, and stress on response to treatment

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Abstract
Forty patients with pain beneath the waist level of longer than 6 mo. duration were selected from a pain clinic. Responders, defined as 50% or more reduction in pain estimate for greater than 2 wk, were less depressed, less passive and overly conventional, had shorter duration of pain, endorsed less frequent exposure to stressors and had less serious nonpain-related illnesses. The findings were viewed as linking the intractability of pain states with psychosocial factors which may directly interfere with response to somatic modes of therapy or which may interfere via alterations of tonic neurohumoral factors. The importance of considering psychological variables in evaluating patients for pain treatment strategies was supported and inclusion of such variables in investigating response to other modalities of treatment for chronic pain was suggested.

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