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Review
. 2024 Apr 26;16(3):483-501.
doi: 10.3390/neurolint16030036.

Pain Catastrophizing: How Far Have We Come

Katarina Simic  1 , Boris Savic  1 , Nebojsa Nick Knezevic  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Pain Catastrophizing: How Far Have We Come

Katarina Simic et al. Neurol Int. .

Abstract

The perception of pain is strongly influenced by various social, emotional, and cognitive factors. A psychological variable which has consistently been shown to exert its influence on pain is a cognitive process referred to as pain catastrophizing. Numerous studies have found it to be a strong predictor of pain intensity and disability across different clinical populations. It signifies a maladaptive response to pain marked by an exaggerated negative assessment, magnification of symptoms related to pain, and, in general, a tendency to experience marked pain-related worry, as well as experiencing feelings of helplessness when it comes to dealing with pain. Pain catastrophizing has been correlated to many adverse pain-related outcomes, including poor treatment response, unsatisfactory quality of life, and high disability related to both acute and chronic pain. Furthermore, there has been consistent evidence in support of a correlation between pain catastrophizing and mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression. In this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge regarding pain catastrophizing, with special emphasis on its clinical significance, and emerging treatment modalities which target it.

Keywords: anxiety; chronic pain; cognitive-behavioral therapy; depression; pain catastrophizing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptualization of pain catastrophizing according to cognitive-behavioral theory.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Conceptualization of pain catastrophizing according to fear-avoidance model.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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