Does fear of pain moderate the effects of sensory focusing and distraction on cold pressor pain in pain-free individuals?

The present study investigated the influence of sensory focusing and distraction on pain tolerance and self-reported pain intensity in healthy female university students ranking high or low in pain-related fear. Pain was induced experimentally by means of a cold pressor test. Results showed that individuals high in pain-related fear groups had greater pain intensity ratings than those low in pain-related fear groups. A planned comparison analysis showed that distraction produced reduced pain ratings only in low fearful individuals, whereas sensory focusing led to reduced pain ratings only in high fearful individuals. Self-report measures of anxiety sensitivity, pain vigilance, and pain catastrophizing were positively associated with pain intensity, but, except for pain vigilance, no meaningful association was found between these measures and pain tolerance. Implications of the results and directions for future research are provided. Perspective: In the management of chronic pain, distraction might be especially useful in low fearful individuals. Learning to focus on the sensory aspects (ie, monitoring) of the pain experience might be beneficial for high fearful individuals. (C) 2004 by the American Pain Society.