Pain Catastrophizing Is Not Associated With Spinal Nociceptive Processing in People With Chronic Widespread Pain

Pain catastrophizing has been associated with higher pain intensity, increased risk of developing chronic pain and poorer outcomes after pain treatments. Despite this, the mechanisms by which pain catastrophizing influences pain remain poorly understood. It has been hypothesised that pain catastrophizing may impair descending inhibition of spinal level nociception. The aims of this study were to compare spinal nociceptive processing in people with chronic widespread pain and pain free controls and examine potential relationships between measures of pain catastrophizing and spinal nociception