Mood Directly Correlates with Pain
Multiple research studies have shown that pain and function can be positively affected by good moods, while negatively affected by poor mood (1). Specific to physical therapy, catastrophizing and depressed moods could prevent improvement and lead to increased disability (2).
Although not always recorded in physical therapy and orthopedics, Recupe inquires about a patient’s mood at every treatment session. With this gathered data, various effects of mood can be seen.
Recupe is a mobile app connected to a wearable sensor that guides patients through exercise programs while recording various health data such as pain, range of motion, adherence, and symptoms. It also records behavioral data, including a patient’s mood. With this data, Recupe health coaches and healthcare professionals using Recupe can encourage and tailor a patient’s home rehabilitation as well as detect problems quickly.
Results
On the Recupe app, mood ratings were recorded from 487 patients over the course of the exercise plan. There were three choices, Happy, Neutral, and Sad, indicated by emoji “happy face” pictures. The average age of these patients was 58.29 (sd 15.79). 51.3% were female while 48.7% were male.
Also, pain levels were recorded on a Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) of 0-10. The correlated results were the following:
| Happy | Neutral | Sad | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg. Pain | 1.96 | 4.17 | 6.1 |
| Avg. Age | 58.53 | 58.31 | 58.43 |
| Age std | 15.37 | 15.66 | 15.277 |
| Female | 50.26 | 53.23 | 59.23 |
| Male | 49.73 | 46.31 | 40.76 |
Discussion
It was not surprising that mood and pain appear related. Happy patients averaged a low amount of pain while sad patients averaged a significant amount of pain. Neutral patients reported a moderate amount of pain. This was expected as previous research has shown that mood suffers with pain, especially chronic pain (1,2).
By demographics, average age is about the same for all mood categories, showing no direct correlation between age, mood, and pain. However, gender numbers skew towards female for patients reporting Sad moods. Though not a definitive explanation, previous research suggests that when depressed, women feel more disabled (3).
Based on this information, poor emotional mood can also be suspected for those in significant pain even if no mood is reported. Also, exercise coaching can be geared toward mood encouragement even if not directly related to the patient’s condition. With the gender trends seen, more care may also be given towards coaching female patients who report significant pain as depression may be a significant factor.
This is only one insight that can be gained from the data supplied by Recupe. Further associations can be found, as well as combinations between multiple variables. With this data, treatments and coaching can be optimized so patients can experience the fullest recovery possible.
