Our Words Affect Pain

Picture from Coregymball

It may be just words you think. Perhaps not. Recently published fascinating research suggest that how healthcare providers describe an injury can have a direct impact on a patient's pain. 

Not only were the patients blinded (a technique used to minimise bias), the patients also did not know they were part of a study.

Picture from article

50 recreational runners with Achilles tedinopathy took part in the radomized trial (pictured above). They ran 3 times a week. Runners in the experimental group received diagnostic information of tendon pain that highlighted reversible changes in muscle function as their primary problem. They did not hear any reference to tendon pathology.

The control group received an explanation of tendon pain that prioritised irreversible structural tendon pathology as the cause of pain.

The primary outcome measure was how much pain the runners had during a standardised hopping task measured on a scale of 0-100. Secondary outcomes were how stiff the lower limbs were hopping and time in seconds for pain to ease after completing the hopping task.

The diagnostic information immediately affected pain intensity during the hopping task. The average pain score was 25.4 in the experimental group versus 36.7 in the control group.

Time to ease (no pain) after hopping was near identical in both groups. Lower limb stiffness was higher in the experimental group. Note that higher leg stiffness is better for leg hopping because increased leg stiffness allows for greater force production and more efficient energy transfer. This leads to higher jump heights and faster movement.

This is a really intriguing area of research. We now have data showing that information from healthcare providers during the first visit has an immediate effect on pain. The language we use during clinical interactions can be powerful, shaping our perceptions and pain responses. This knowledge should change how we interact with our patients. 

However, we need to also be able to do this in our clinics without compromising the accuracy and necessary medical information.

Reference

Travers NJ, Travers MJ, Gibson W et al (2025). The Content Of Diagnostic Information Has An Immediate Effect On Pain With Loading In People With Morportion Achilles Tendinopathy: A Randomized Clinical Experiment. Bra J PT. 29(5). DOI: 10.1016/j.bjbt.2025.101244