People whose lives are not free from troubles cope better with chronic back pain – informs the EurekAlert website.
The research was conducted by a team from the University at Buffalo and the University of California at Irvine led by Professor Mark Seery. According to the authors, minor life difficulties may be beneficial and have a protective effect. Patients whose lives are not all roses (but are not overwhelmed by too much misfortune) are less affected by the physical effects of the disease and spend less time at the doctor.
Adversity can also protect against the mental disorders that occur in patients with chronic back pain, says Seery. Additional analysis found no other explanation for the US study results. The subjects were selected randomly from among patients who had access to the Internet. They responded to an online survey that asked about 37 different adverse events – from disease and trauma to sexual violence, mourning, stress and natural disasters. The respondents were also asked about their physical fitness, medications used, visits to the doctor as well as physical and psychiatric ailments. (PAP)