This qualitative study sought to answer: How may I, as an artist, use art for my own transformation and healing? I am an artist and teacher living with chronic pain and fatigue and wanted to find healing through art and inspire others to do the same. During the three month study, I made artwork, reflected in my journal, and practiced guided imagery. The journal was used to reflect on my health, the creative process, and to record ideas generated through guided imagery. Findings showed that short term relief was provided during the act of creation, but no long-term relief was achieved. The primary conclusion was that I was able to use art for healing and transformation, but only after experimentation and reflection. By adapting the creative process to accommodate for my illness, I was able to include art making as part of a healthy life.

The association between pain and depression is well documented across various populations, but not in puerperal women. This study examined the association of childbirth pain with postpartum depression (PPD) in a nationally representative sample of Canadian women. Data from the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey (n=6421) was used. Multivariate logistic regressions and partial proportional odds models were fitted and included socio-demographic, obstetric, health, psychological, and psychosocial factors. Chronic pain sufferers at mean 7.3 months postpartum had adjusted odds of PPD of 2.4 (95% CI: 1.6, 3.6) compared to women without pain. Adjusted odds of PPD increased with the number of areas of chronic pain, reaching 4.2 (95% C.I.: 0.7, 25.0) for 3 or more areas. Immigration, obesity, cesarean section and social support increased the strength of the association while smoking and the use of pain relief were protective effect modifiers. Persistent postpartum pain is a major risk factor for PPD.

Introduction: The effects of chronic pain on health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) among older Canadian adults with disability was not well known. Study Objectives: This study was conducted to examine the relationship between chronic pain and HRQoL among older Canadian adults with disability aged 55+. Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS). Weighted data was used to examine the relationship between chronic pain and HRQoL using multivariate logistic regression techniques. Results: An estimated 68% of older Canadian adults with disability reported having chronic pain. Multivariate regression analysis confirmed a significant independent effect of chronic pain on self-reported HRQoL. Conclusion: Our results highlight the importance of pain assessment and management for older adults with disabilities in general and in particular among those with limited communication abilities.

This thesis is a report of a study on patients suffering one of two painful chronic illnesses (rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or migraine), and attempts to discover possible determinants of psychological reactions to long term painful illness. One hundred and sixty chronically ill individuals were interviewed, (80 migraine and 80 RA sufferers). In keeping with other evidence, the extent of psychological disturbance was found to be higher for chronically ill individuals than for general population samples. There were no zero order correlations between reported pain and psychological distress. Age and length of suffering have often been cited as possible factors influencing mood state, but no evidence was found for this in the data gained in this survey. The results provide no evidence for the use of coping strategies as a method of adapting to the demands of the painful chronic illnesses studied here. Beliefs in control over illness have been posited as possible factors that may influence psychological state, and were measured in this research using a health locus of control scale. However locus of control scores were not found to be associated with mood state, although, in keeping with other research, scores were found to be associated with age and social class, with both lower social class and older sufferers scoring higher on externality than those from higher social classes, or whom were younger. The strongest association was found between aspects of subjective health status and mood state. The major finding of this study is that patients assessment of their own health state, in both illnesses, is the major factor associated with psychological state.

We investigated the role of two intracellular second messengers, extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), and protein kinase C (PKC) in a model of persistent pain, using intrathecal (i.t) (R,S )-DHPG to induce spontaneous nociceptive behaviours (SNBs). SNBs were measured in animals that were treated with an ERK inhibitor (PD 98059), and a PKC inhibitor (GF 109203X) compared with controls. Mechanical allodynia, was measured using paw withdrawal thresholds in the von Frey test, and thermal hyperalgesia was measured using response latencies in the plantar test. In study 1, it was shown that spinal administration of PD 98059, dose-dependently decreased SNBs, and reduced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. In study 2, it was shown that i.t. pretreatment with the GF 109203X, reduced SNBs and thermal hyperalgesia, but not mechanical allodynia. These results suggest that both ERK and PKC are involved in SNBs and the concomitant and thermal hyperalgesia and possibly mechanical allodynia.

Cognitive-behavioural based models of chronic pain contend that appraisals of harm affect the individual�s response to pain. It has been suggested that fear of pain and/or anxiety sensitivity predispose individuals to chronicity. However, other factors such as pain self-efficacy are believed to mediate between experience of pain and disability. According to this view, pain is maintained through hypervigilance towards painful sensations and subsequent avoidance. Four studies were conducted in order to evaluate the structure of fear-avoidance models of chronic pain, and also, to examine the role of hypervigilance as an underlying mechanism in maintenance of pain. In study one, using a sample of 207 consecutive patients, two models were tested. First, fear of movement model as proposed by Vlaeyen et al. (1995a) was examined. It was found that negative affectivity has direct effects on the fear and avoidance of pain, which in turn, contributes to disability. In total, fear/avoidance accounted for a significant amount of the variance of disability. In addition, severity of pain was found to increase pain disability, while itself is influenced still by negative affectivity. These findings supported the model of fear of pain as described by Vlaeyen et al. (1995a). Further, we found that self-efficacy may mediate the impact of fear of pain on disability and reduces the perceived physical disability. At the same time, self-efficacy was shown to have direct reductive impact on disability. However, both studies indicated that people who are fearful in response to pain are more likely to develop disability, although self-efficacy may play a moderating role. In the studies one, two, and three, the role of hypervigilance in over attending to pain was investigated. In study one a large sample of 168 chronic pain patients were studied. Questionnaires measuring different aspects of pain and a computerised version of the Dot-Probe Task were administered. Four types of words related to different dimensions of pain and matched neutral words were used as stimuli. Reaction times in response to the stimuli were recorded. A factorial design 3x4x2x2 and ANOVAs were employed to analyse the data. Chronic pain patients showed a cognitive bias to sensory pain words relative to affective, disability, and threat-related words. However, contrary to expectations, those high in fear of pain responded more slowly to stimuli than those less fearful of pain. These results suggest that patients with chronic pain problems selectively attend to sensory aspects of pain. However, selective attention appears to depend upon the nature of pain stimuli. For those who are highly fearful of pain they may not only selectively attend to pain-related information but also have difficulty disengaging from those stimuli. In study two, 35 chronic pain patients were compared with the same number matched healthy subjects. Both groups completed measures of fear of pain, anxiety sensitivity, depression and anxiety, in addition to dot probe task. Results indicated that both groups show similar attentional bias to sensory words in comparison with other word types. However, the level of this biasness was higher for chronic pain patients. Lack of significant differences between patients and controls is discussed in the context of possible evolutionary value of sensitivity to pain as an adaptive reaction in healthy controls, and contrary, as a maladaptive response to pain in chronic pain patients. The results of the previous research suggest that chronic pain patients demonstrate cognitive biases towards pain-related information and that such biases predict patient functioning. The forth study examined the degree to which a successful cognitive-behavioural program was able to modify the observed attentional bias towards sensory pain words. Forty-two patients with chronic pain conditions for more than three months were recruited prior to commencing a cognitive-behavioural pain management program. Participants were assessed before the program, after the program and at one-month follow-up. Results confirmed that chronic pain patients exhibited biased attention towards sensory pain-related words at pre-treatment. These biases were still evident at post-treatment, but were no longer statistically significant at follow up. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the changes in attentional bias towards sensory words between post-treatment and follow-up were predicted by pre- to post- treatment changes in fear of movement (Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia) but not other relevant variables, such as fear of pain or anxiety sensitivity. These results demonstrate that successful cognitive-behavioural treatments can reduce selective attention, thought to be indicative of hypervigilance towards pain. Moreover, these biases appear to be changed by reducing the fear associated with movement. Theoretically, these results provide support for the fear of (re)injury model of pain. Clinically, this study supports the contention that fear of (re)injury and movement is an appropriate target of pain management and that reducing these fears causes patients to attend less to pain-related stimuli.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Medicine, 2001. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 260-304).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Sydney, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed September 25, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy to the Faculty of Medicine. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Göteborg University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2008. / "December, 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-164). Online version available on the World Wide Web.