Pain is perceived as more intense if there is a predisposition to it, a study indicates

Madrid. The pain is perceived as more intense if you are predisposed to it, that is, if a doctor warns his patient with the words you’re going to feel paininstead of telling him you’re going to feel pressurethe perception of pain is increased by the same intensity of palpation, as demonstrated by a study led by the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).

The results of the research, published in Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeuticsconclude that the sensation of pain and the physiological aspects that it triggers, specifically pupil dilation, are increased depending on the type of instructions given to patients.

These findings may help understand how expectations affect pain perception, which may help develop more effective pain management strategies in clinical settings, such as rehabilitation, dental, or palliative care treatments.said researcher Laura Jiménez Ortega, from the UCM Faculty of Dentistry.

To carry out this work, researchers from the Department of Psychobiology and Behavioral Sciences Methodology at the UCM showed the participants videos with instructions designed to generate expectations of pain or its absence, that is, to generate pressure.

Subsequently, participants were given mild pain stimulation to the masseter muscle of the jaw by palpation, using an intensity equivalent to 10 percent above each participant’s pain threshold. This was done twice: once mentioning the word pain before starting and another time using the word pressure.

From the moment the word pain was mentioned until the end of palpation, an increase in pupillary dilation was observed.

Furthermore, participants’ final rating of discomfort, which was measured by the visual analog pain scale, was higher under the expectation of discomfort condition, even though the intensity of the stimulation was identical in both conditions.

Although the instructions were both true, one spoke of producing pain and the other described pressure, given the same intensity of pressure/palpation, patients perceived more discomfort when they were told it was painful.Jiménez explained.

This study highlights the use of measuring pupil dilation as an objective tool to evaluate the perception of discomfort and its conclusions can be applicable in psychological therapy, where patients’ expectations can be adjusted to improve their experience of pain and your general well-being, as well as in pain management in rehabilitation, dental or palliative treatments, among others.