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Biomedical subjects

H C Philips

Publications and source records attributed to H C Philips.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

A psychophysiological evaluation of female urethral syndrome: evidence for a muscular abnormality.

This is a preliminary investigation into a recently defined urological disorder occurring in a subgroup of women with "urethral syndrome" suggestive of pelvic floor muscular (PFM) dysfunction. Symptoms include straining to void, urgency, frequency, hesitation, incontinence and/or retention, and subpubic pain. Finding neither bladder nor urological abnormalities, urologists may consider these women emotionally unstable without organic cause for their symptoms. However, their distress may be a consequence rather than a cause of their voiding problems. Sixteen female urological patients were matched with 16 asymptomatic controls to investigate PFM functioning, psychological status, and symptomatology. Results showed heterogeneity of symptomatology and little elevation of depression or anxiety when comparing patients with controls. Hypotheses of muscular abnormality were confirmed. Patients evidence poor control over testing and relaxing PFM, elevations of PFM activity under various conditions, and chronic pain as a prominent symptom. Treatment approaches specifically designed to address PFM dysfunction are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

An effective treatment for functional urinary incoordination.

Twenty women diagnosed with functional urinary incoordination were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: biofeedback or progressive muscle relaxation. Ten subjects who were placed on a waiting list prior to treatment allocation served as a comparison group. The biofeedback intervention focused specifically on retraining of pelvic floor musculature (PFM). Patients were assessed pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 2-month follow-up. Outcome measures included self-reported symptomatology, psychological functioning, psychophysiological assessment of the PFM, and urologist ratings of problem severity and treatment efficacy. Both treatment approaches proved effective in improving symptomatology and psychological state. Subjects on the waiting list demonstrated no change in urological difficulties. No differences were found between the two treatment groups on any of the outcome measures. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Acute back pain: a psychological analysis.

A cross-sectional evaluation of 117 people who sustained acute back injuries was undertaken within 15 days of the first report of the pain. The subjects showed no discal or neural signs and had not experienced previous episodes of back or neck pain. All subjects were given a structured interview and filled in a series of psychological evaluation instruments. Results show acute pain reactions to be comparable to those seen in chronic pain groups. The predominant emotion is one of frustration rather than anxiety or depression and considerable behavioural disruption is evident from this early point. The extent to which these data undermine the model of gradual evolution of chronic back pain problems is discussed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

The evolution of chronic back pain problems: a longitudinal study.

A longitudinal evaluation of the recovery from an acute back pain episode was undertaken on 117 sufferers, with assessments at the onset, 3 and 6 months. The number of individuals still reporting pain at 6 months, and therefore qualifying for 'chronic pain', was considerably higher than expected (40%). At 6 months, the persisting pain problems were found to be moderate to severe in intensity in approx. 20% of cases. Despite the pain, the chronic sufferers showed gradual continuing adjustments to it, re-establishing activities despite pain. Most of the change in the pain components (cognitive, subjective, behavioral, depression, anxiety) occur in the first 3 months, after which considerable stability is evident in the residual problem. In contrast, the impact of the pain and the consequent disability decline more markedly and continue to do so right up to the 6 month point. There was no evidence of chronic pain evolving and growing, but rather of a persistence of the acute presentation.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

The prevention of chronic pain and disability: a preliminary investigation.

A preliminary investigation was undertaken on 117 acute back pain cases, to assess the utility of counseling at the acute stage upon the course of recovery over the subsequent 6 months. In addition, the extent to which psychological reactions to acute injury would allow the 'tagging' of individuals at risk for chronic pain problems, was studied. The minimal rehabilitation counseling proved inadequate to effect the course of recovery, but remarkably accurate predictions were possible at the sub-chronic point (3 months) as to who would make complete recoveries.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Thoughts provoked by pain.

Despite the growing interest in the cognitive component of chronic pain, little information has been collected on the variety of thoughts provoked by pain experience. A new assessment instrument (the Cognitive Evaluative Questionnaire--CEQ) has been utilized with 127 chronic pain patients and their cognitions classified into seven discrete clusters. The results confirm the heterogeneity of pain cognitions, the majority of which are likely to play a role in enhancing or perpetuating chronic pain. The relationship of these cognitions to chronic avoidance behavior is discussed.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1988

Changing chronic pain experience.

Training in relaxation is a prominent component in multi-disciplinary approaches to the management of chronic pain, although its specific potency in modulating pain has not yet been established. Using a within-session design, the specific effects of relaxation induction were evaluated in a group of benign chronic pain patients (n = 24), and compared to similar patients undergoing a control procedure (n = 22). The results indicated that irrespective of the focus of pain complaint, induction of relaxation over a 20 min period led to significant and sizeable reductions in both sensory and affective pain experience. The overall intensity of pain was significantly reduced. These effects were shown to be reliable and independent of onset level of sensory experience or depression. No significant changes occurred in the control group over a comparable period. The implications of these results were discussed with respect to the process by which relaxation reduces pain.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Recent onset vs. persistent pain: evidence for a distinction.

Evidence for a distinction between chronic and recent onset pain on behavioural and subjective indices was reviewed. Pain behaviours and subjective indices of pain were studied in chronic and recent onset low back pain sufferers. No differences were found between chronic and acute sufferers on measures of pain behaviour, nor on subjective indices of pain. However, differences were found in the relationships between the subjective and behavioural indices of pain in these groups. Pain behaviours were found to be independent of the subjective pain experience in recent onset pain. The relationships between subjective pain experience and pain behaviour became stronger with increased pain duration. The relationships between behavioural dimensions of pain weakened with chronicity, as did the relationship between subjective pain dimensions. These findings were discussed in relation to current accounts of chronic and recent onset pain and their implications for both theory and treatment were considered.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

The effects of persistent pain: the chronic headache sufferer.

A survey of the psychological characteristics of a large sample of chronic headache cases (n = 360), including classical and common migraine and tension headache sufferers, was carried out. Comparing groups defined in terms of the chronicity of their headache problems, it was found that those with a longer history of headache had a higher level of behavioural disruption and a stronger bond between pain experience, and both complaint levels and behavioural avoidance patterns. Despite the common somatic components (sleep disturbance, fatigue, irritability, etc.), depression was not found to be elevated in this chronic pain group. In addition, there was no evidence of depression levels being higher in the populations who had had a longer history of headache problems. Higher levels of complaint were found in those with higher depression and higher extroversion and neuroticism scores. Behavioural avoidance was significantly related to the emotional reaction component of pain. The implications of these findings with respect to the development of chronic headache are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1982

A laboratory technique for the assessment of pain behavior.

The understanding and assessment of headache has been handicapped by inadequate assessment of pain behavior. The current study aimed to develop a simple laboratory technique to evaluate a headache sufferer's apparent oversensitivity to, and avoidance of, stimuli such as noise and bright lights. The results revealed that subjects could reliably calibrate the stimuli on a scale from "comfortable" to "definitely unpleasant." Significant group differentiation (controls/headache prone) was possible on the basis of auditory stimulus sensitivity, irrespective of current pain state. On the other hand, endurance time at an intense level differentiated subjects in pain from those pain-free, irrespective of group (headache/nonheadache). The advantages and potential of such an objective assessment of pain are discussed.

Adult↗