Prognostic factors for pain relief and functional improvement in chronic pain after inpatient rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the factors associated with pain relief and improved physical functioning in chronic pain patients during outpatient management in the first 5 months immediately after a standardized inpatient pain management program.
METHODS: Prospective cohort study using standardized questionnaires on sociodemographic data, disease outcome, psychosocial factors, change in behavior, and outpatient therapies on discharge from inpatient rehabilitation and during the 5-month follow-up at home (observation period). Stepwise forward multivariate linear regression analysis examined the correlation of these factors with change in pain severity and change in physical functioning.
RESULTS: The study included 80.1% female patients, 90.0% had at least 1 comorbidity and 62.9% had chronic pain for≥5 years. On average, pain intensity and depression worsened slightly during the observation period, but the other outcomes remained almost stable. Relief from anxiety (20.7% explained variance) and low baseline depression (5.5%) were the most important predictors for pain relief. Relief from anxiety (13.3%) and low baseline depression (7.1%) were most strongly associated with functional improvement.
CONCLUSIONS: This study found a strong association of change in pain severity and physical functioning with change in baseline level of affective health and coping during the first outpatient management period after inpatient rehabilitation. As a consequence, it may be possible to improve the treatment of chronic pain by therapy of mood and coping.