A relação entre a precisão na avaliação da dor e a precisão na avaliação de outras sensações corporais em indivíduos com Fibromialgia

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a condition of generalized chronic pain associated with changes in the central and peripheral processing of pain, as well as changes in the processing of internal states, that is, in the interception. Some studies report the existence of high variability in pain reports in this condition, which may hinder the diagnosis and treatment of pain. Recently, the Focused Analgesia Selection Test (FAST) was developed, an experimental procedure to evaluate the variability in pain reports, that is, the relationship between the different intensities of stimuli applied and the reports of pain reported by thevindividuals.The aim of this study is to study the relationship between the ability to be vaccurate/accurate in pain assessment and the ability to be precise in the evaluation of other body sensations in FM. Thirty participants with FM were recruited, to whom the experimental protocol was applied to assess pain, which consisted of the evaluation of experimental pain variability (FAST), pain sensitivity through the evaluation of thresholds and pain tolerance in different modalities (electrical, thermal, pressure), as well as the interoceptive capacity, evaluated through the task of heartbeat and MAIA, and evaluation of clinical characteristics with the use of FIQ, BPI and HADS. The results show that the ability to be accurate in reporting pain does not correlate with the ability to be accurate in assessing heart rate or with the interoceptive sensitivity reported by the individual. There is also no relationship between interoception and sensitivity to pain.The clinical and psychological characteristics of individuals may be associated with an increase in interoceptive. More specifically with a greater ability to trust their bodies and not to be distracted from their states reveal less severe pain, less impact on physical functioning due to fibromyalgia and less anxiety and depression. Further studies are needed to clarify these relationships and improve understanding of the skills involved in reporting body states, which is central to the assessment and treatment of patients with chronic pain.

Date of Award	23 Jul 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rita Canaipa (Supervisor)