Publication Date
7-1-2022
Journal
Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine
DOI
10.1097/JSM.0000000000000951
PMID
34173783
PMCID
PMC8692487
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
7-1-2023
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Published Open-Access
yes
Keywords
Athletic Injuries, Brain Concussion, Child, Fear, Humans, Pain, Post-Concussion Syndrome, Retrospective Studies, Sports-related concussion, pediatric, fear of pain questionnaire
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether an association exists between fear of pain and recovery time from sports-related concussion in a pediatric population.
DESIGN: Prospective observational study.
SETTING: Primary outpatient sports medicine clinic of a large pediatric hospital.
PATIENTS: One hundred twenty-eight pediatric patients aged 8 to 18 years who presented to clinic with a primary diagnosis of concussion from September 2018 to March 2020. Inclusion criteria included presentation within 2 weeks of injury and symptomatic on initial visit. Patients who sustained a concussion because of motor vehicle collisions or assault were excluded.
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: There was no intervention. Study participants who met inclusion criteria were administered the Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FOPQ) at their initial visit.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Time to clinical recovery was the main outcome measure and was determined by the fellowship-trained sports medicine physician based on resolution of concussion symptoms, resumption of normal physical and cognitive daily activities, no use of accommodations or medications, and normalization of physical exam.
RESULTS: There was a significant difference in FOPQ scores for those with prolonged recovery (M = 33.12, SD = 18.36) compared with those recovering in fewer than 28 days (M = 26.16, SD = 18.44; t [126] = -2.18, P = 0.036).
CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with the adult literature, we found that pediatric patients are more likely to have a prolonged recovery from concussion when they have higher fear of pain.