COGNITIVE AND PHYSICAL CAPACITY PROCESS VARIABLES PREDICT LONG-TERM OUTCOME AFTER TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PAIN

Cognitive-behavioral and physical therapies are incorporated into mult idisciplinary chronic pain programs because changes in pain cognitions and physical capacity may represent therapeutic processes that facili tate favorable outcome. Decreases in depression, however may explain t reatment responses more parsimoniously. Measures of pain helplessness, lifting capacity, walking endurance, depression, pain severity, and a ctivity level were collected from 94 chronic pain patients at pre- and posttreatment and at 3- to 6-month follow-up evaluations. Decreases i n pain helplessness were linked to pain severity reduction, whereas wa lking endurance; increases were related to improvements in activity le vels and downtime even after controlling for effects of depression dec reases. Thus, cognitive and physical capacity changes that occur throu gh pain treatment may make unique contributions to long-term outcome.