Article

Little information exists about the role of fear-avoidance beliefs
and catastrophizing in subacromial pain syndrome.
The purpose of this
study was to investigate the associations among pain, catastrophizing, fear, and
disability and the contribution of fear-avoidance beliefs to disability at
baseline and at 3-month follow-up. DESIGN: A cross-sectional and longitudinal
analysis was conducted. METHODS: Baseline demographic and clinical data,
including fear-avoidance beliefs and catastrophizing, of 90 patients were
assessed for this analysis. Disability was measured with the Shoulder Pain and
Disability Index at baseline and at 3-month follow-up. First, bivariate and
partial correlations were calculated among pain, fear-avoidance beliefs,
catastrophizing, and disability, based on the fear-avoidance model. Second, the
contribution of fear-avoidance beliefs to disability at baseline and at 3-month
follow-up was examined with hierarchical regression analyses. RESULTS:
Correlations between clinical variables and disability were largely in line with
the fear-avoidance model. Regression analyses identified a significant
contribution of fear-avoidance beliefs to baseline disability but not to
disability at 3 months. LIMITATIONS: Patients with subacromial pain syndrome were
studied; therefore, the results should be transferred with caution to other
diagnoses. A modified version of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire was
used, which was not validated for this patient group. CONCLUSIONS: Fear-avoidance
beliefs contribute significantly to baseline disability but not to disability
change scores after 3-month follow-up. Duration of complaints and baseline
disability were the main factors influencing disability change scores. Although
the results help to improve understanding of the role of fear-avoidance beliefs,
further studies are needed to fully understand the influence of psychological and
clinical factors on the development of disability in patients with subacromial
shoulder pain.
CI - (c) 2014 American Physical Therapy Association.

Langue : ANGLAIS