The Effect of Depression on Pain Perception and Function in the Foot and Ankle Patient

Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: Foot and ankle (FA) pain can be found in up to 20% of the adult population.1 Etiologies are multifactorial and include neurologic injury, trauma, deformity, tendinopathies and psychological factors. The purpose of this investigation is to assess psychological fa...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Shannon Alejandro MD, Matthew Geswell MD, Louis Grandizio DO, Jove Graham PhD, Gerard Cush MD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2018-09-01
Series:Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2473011418S00139
_version_ 1819296560053223424
author Shannon Alejandro MD
Matthew Geswell MD
Louis Grandizio DO
Jove Graham PhD
Gerard Cush MD
author_facet Shannon Alejandro MD
Matthew Geswell MD
Louis Grandizio DO
Jove Graham PhD
Gerard Cush MD
author_sort Shannon Alejandro MD
collection DOAJ
description Category: Other Introduction/Purpose: Foot and ankle (FA) pain can be found in up to 20% of the adult population.1 Etiologies are multifactorial and include neurologic injury, trauma, deformity, tendinopathies and psychological factors. The purpose of this investigation is to assess psychological factors contributing to FA pain in surgical and nonsurgical patients. By identifying how psychological factors influence patient reported pain and disability, clinicians may be able to develop interventions to decrease catastrophic thinking and improve psychological well-being prior to considering surgical intervention Methods: All patients seen in a FA clinic by a single fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon from August 2016 to October 2016 were included. All patients completed 5 functional assessments prior to their visit (PHQ-2, VAS Pain Scale, FAAM, PSEQ, PCS). We divided the patients into two groups based on their performance on the PHQ (PHQ < 3, or PHQ = 3), which measures depression. Scores = 3 are indicative of clinical depression. Nonparametric Wilcoxon testing was used to determine whether the distributions of the other scores (VAS Pain Scale, FAAM, PSEQ and PCS) were significantly different between these two groups. Results: Of the 225 patients included in our analysis, there were 175 (88%) had PHQ-2 depression scores of < 3 (Group 1) and 50 (22%) had scores = 3 (Group 2). Group 2 demonstrated a statistically significant increase in VAS Pain Scale and PCS. In addition, patients in Group 2 showed statistically significant decreases in FAAM and PSEQ. Patients in Group 2 were statistically more likely to be obese, use tobacco, and be unemployed. Conclusion: In patients with common FA complaints, those with clinical depression, as assessed by the PHQ-2, demonstrated increased pain scores, decreased ability to cope with pain, and lower functional outcome scores compared to patients without depression. Tobacco use, obesity and employment status were found to independently affect pain, coping, and function of patients. These data suggest that depression can significantly affect a patient’s ability to cope with pain and to achieve a higher functional outcome. This data suggests patients with depression may have increased difficulty coping with their FA ailment leading to the need for increased counseling regarding expected outcomes.
first_indexed 2024-12-24T05:00:03Z
format Article
id doaj.art-c8e54d68bf1e42bca6096985142c708c
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2473-0114
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-24T05:00:03Z
publishDate 2018-09-01
publisher SAGE Publishing
record_format Article
series Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics
spelling doaj.art-c8e54d68bf1e42bca6096985142c708c2022-12-21T17:14:15ZengSAGE PublishingFoot & Ankle Orthopaedics2473-01142018-09-01310.1177/2473011418S00139The Effect of Depression on Pain Perception and Function in the Foot and Ankle PatientShannon Alejandro MDMatthew Geswell MDLouis Grandizio DOJove Graham PhDGerard Cush MDCategory: Other Introduction/Purpose: Foot and ankle (FA) pain can be found in up to 20% of the adult population.1 Etiologies are multifactorial and include neurologic injury, trauma, deformity, tendinopathies and psychological factors. The purpose of this investigation is to assess psychological factors contributing to FA pain in surgical and nonsurgical patients. By identifying how psychological factors influence patient reported pain and disability, clinicians may be able to develop interventions to decrease catastrophic thinking and improve psychological well-being prior to considering surgical intervention Methods: All patients seen in a FA clinic by a single fellowship trained orthopaedic surgeon from August 2016 to October 2016 were included. All patients completed 5 functional assessments prior to their visit (PHQ-2, VAS Pain Scale, FAAM, PSEQ, PCS). We divided the patients into two groups based on their performance on the PHQ (PHQ < 3, or PHQ = 3), which measures depression. Scores = 3 are indicative of clinical depression. Nonparametric Wilcoxon testing was used to determine whether the distributions of the other scores (VAS Pain Scale, FAAM, PSEQ and PCS) were significantly different between these two groups. Results: Of the 225 patients included in our analysis, there were 175 (88%) had PHQ-2 depression scores of < 3 (Group 1) and 50 (22%) had scores = 3 (Group 2). Group 2 demonstrated a statistically significant increase in VAS Pain Scale and PCS. In addition, patients in Group 2 showed statistically significant decreases in FAAM and PSEQ. Patients in Group 2 were statistically more likely to be obese, use tobacco, and be unemployed. Conclusion: In patients with common FA complaints, those with clinical depression, as assessed by the PHQ-2, demonstrated increased pain scores, decreased ability to cope with pain, and lower functional outcome scores compared to patients without depression. Tobacco use, obesity and employment status were found to independently affect pain, coping, and function of patients. These data suggest that depression can significantly affect a patient’s ability to cope with pain and to achieve a higher functional outcome. This data suggests patients with depression may have increased difficulty coping with their FA ailment leading to the need for increased counseling regarding expected outcomes.https://doi.org/10.1177/2473011418S00139
spellingShingle Shannon Alejandro MD
Matthew Geswell MD
Louis Grandizio DO
Jove Graham PhD
Gerard Cush MD
The Effect of Depression on Pain Perception and Function in the Foot and Ankle Patient
Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics
title The Effect of Depression on Pain Perception and Function in the Foot and Ankle Patient
title_full The Effect of Depression on Pain Perception and Function in the Foot and Ankle Patient
title_fullStr The Effect of Depression on Pain Perception and Function in the Foot and Ankle Patient
title_full_unstemmed The Effect of Depression on Pain Perception and Function in the Foot and Ankle Patient
title_short The Effect of Depression on Pain Perception and Function in the Foot and Ankle Patient
title_sort effect of depression on pain perception and function in the foot and ankle patient
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2473011418S00139
work_keys_str_mv AT shannonalejandromd theeffectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT matthewgeswellmd theeffectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT louisgrandiziodo theeffectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT jovegrahamphd theeffectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT gerardcushmd theeffectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT shannonalejandromd effectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT matthewgeswellmd effectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT louisgrandiziodo effectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT jovegrahamphd effectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient
AT gerardcushmd effectofdepressiononpainperceptionandfunctioninthefootandanklepatient