Patellofemoral pain syndrome: pain, coping strategies and degree of well-being.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate how patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) experience their pain, what coping strategies they use for the pain, and their degree of well-being. Fifty patients, 15-52 years old, with PFPS were evaluated with multidimensional pain inventory (MPI), coping strategies questionnaire (CSQ) and Spielberger state trait anxiety inventory (STAI). Reliability of the evaluation methods was established for 12 patients. Good reliability was established for all instruments except for six of the 13 scales of the MPI. Results on MPI, CSQ and STAI are in agreement with the literature on other patient groups with chronic pain. The most frequently used strategies were "coping self statements" and "ignoring sensations". High scores were found for the strategy "catastrophizing" compared with other patient groups having chronic pain. The STAI scores were in general found to be somewhat higher than the scores found in the literature on healthy subjects. It is concluded that the way patients with PFPS experience their pain, the coping strategies for pain they use and their degree of well-being, are in agreement with other patient groups who have chronic pain. Some concern is raised in terms of the high scores reported for the coping strategy "catastrophizing" .