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Positive phrasing improved patient coping status
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Patients with lateral epicondylitis who described their condition with positive phrases experienced improvement in coping status with less use of medical resources, according to study results.
Researchers followed 91 patients with lateral epicondylitis for 12 months. Patients used the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) to indicate baseline coping status and were discharged with a wait-and-see policy.
In their own words, patients described the nature of their condition during follow-up interviews, and the researchers categorized the patients into either positive- or negative-phrasing groups. Current coping status, seeking of additional treatment and the factors associated with these outcomes were analyzed.
No significant differences were seen between the two groups in baseline PCS scores, according to the study. However, the researchers found significantly lower PCS scores among patients in the positive-phrasing group. These patients were also less likely to seek additional treatment compared with the negative-phrasing group.
Improvement in PCS scores was associated with positive phrasing and low pain levels, whereas negative phrasing and depression were independently associated with patients’ seeking of additional treatment.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
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