2016 Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 22-29
PURPOSE: Pain intensity, suffering, patient's satisfaction level may be considered as important part of multidimensional assessment. The first aim of the present study was to examine whether there were differences in the rate of improvement in pain intensity and pain-related suffering before and after treatment in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. The second aim was to investigate correlations between the patient satisfaction level, pain intensity, and pain-related suffering before and after treatment. METHODS: Forty-four participants were recruited. Pain intensity, pain-related suffering, and patient satisfaction level were assessed before and after treatment for 6 weeks. RESULTS: Significant difference was observed in pain intensity and pain-related suffering after treatment. The rate of improvement in pain-related suffering was significantly higher than that in pain intensity. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that only pain intensity before treatment was related to the patient satisfaction level before treatment and only the rate of improvement in pain-related suffering was related to the patient satisfaction level after treatment. CONCLUSION: The interesting finding of this study was that the primary factor for patient satisfaction level changed from pain intensity to the rate of improvement in pain-related suffering. These results may give important information to determine a treatment policy.
