Individual Expectation: an Overlooked, but Pertinent, Factor in the Treatment of Individuals Experiencing Musculoskeletal Pain

Overview

Journal Phys Ther

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Rehabilitation Medicine

Date 2010 Jul 2

PMID 20592270

Citations 56

Authors

Joel E Bialosky

Mark D Bishop

Joshua A Cleland

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Physical therapists consider many factors in the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal pain. The current literature suggests expectation is an influential component of clinical outcomes related to musculoskeletal pain for which physical therapists frequently do not account. The purpose of this clinical perspective is to highlight the potential role of expectation in the clinical outcomes associated with the rehabilitation of individuals experiencing musculoskeletal pain. The discussion focuses on the definition and measurement of expectation, the relationship between expectation and outcomes related to musculoskeletal pain conditions, the mechanisms through which expectation may alter musculoskeletal pain conditions, and suggested ways in which clinicians may integrate the current literature regarding expectation into clinical practice.

Citing Articles

Factors contributing to non-compliance with active physiotherapy guidelines among chronic low back pain patients in India.

Ganesh G, Khan A, Khan A Arch Physiother. 2025; 14():155-169.

PMID: 39777288 PMC: 11704684. DOI: 10.33393/aop.2024.3217.

Patient perspectives on low back pain treatment in primary care: a qualitative study of hopes, expectations, and experiences.

Madsen S, Stochkendahl M, Morso L, Andersen M, Assing Hvidt E BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2024; 25(1):997.

PMID: 39639259 PMC: 11619672. DOI: 10.1186/s12891-024-08116-3.

Integrated manual therapies: IASP taskforce viewpoint.

Draper-Rodi J, Newell D, Barbe M, Bialosky J Pain Rep. 2024; 9(6):e1192.

PMID: 39479389 PMC: 11524741. DOI: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000001192.

Evaluation of the Structural and Construct Validity of the Credibility and Expectancy Scale for Patients With Musculoskeletal Disorders.

Takasaki H, Handa Y, Chiba H, Kitamura T Cureus. 2024; 16(8):e67639.

PMID: 39314572 PMC: 11419591. DOI: 10.7759/cureus.67639.

Patients' expectations surrounding revision total hip arthroplasty: a literature review.

Mohammad O, Shaarani S, Mohammad A, Konan S Arthroplasty. 2024; 6(1):28.

PMID: 38825694 PMC: 11145824. DOI: 10.1186/s42836-024-00250-6.

References

Linde K, Witt C, Streng A, Weidenhammer W, Wagenpfeil S, Brinkhaus B . The impact of patient expectations on outcomes in four randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in patients with chronic pain. Pain. 2007; 128(3):264-271. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2006.12.006. View

Vase L, Robinson M, Verne G, Price D . The contributions of suggestion, desire, and expectation to placebo effects in irritable bowel syndrome patients. An empirical investigation. Pain. 2003; 105(1-2):17-25. DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3959(03)00073-3. View

Thompson A, Sunol R . Expectations as determinants of patient satisfaction: concepts, theory and evidence. Int J Qual Health Care. 1995; 7(2):127-41. DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/7.2.127. View

Eisler T, Svensson O, Tengstrom A, Elmstedt E . Patient expectation and satisfaction in revision total hip arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 2002; 17(4):457-62. DOI: 10.1054/arth.2002.31245. View

Vase L, Riley 3rd J, Price D . A comparison of placebo effects in clinical analgesic trials versus studies of placebo analgesia. Pain. 2002; 99(3):443-452. DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3959(02)00205-1. View

Vase L, Robinson M, Verne N, Price D . Increased placebo analgesia over time in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients is associated with desire and expectation but not endogenous opioid mechanisms. Pain. 2005; 115(3):338-347. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2005.03.014. View

Chou R, Shekelle P . Will this patient develop persistent disabling low back pain?. JAMA. 2010; 303(13):1295-302. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2010.344. View

Groeneveld P, Kwoh C, Mor M, Appelt C, Geng M, Gutierrez J . Racial differences in expectations of joint replacement surgery outcomes. Arthritis Rheum. 2008; 59(5):730-7. PMC: 3132936. DOI: 10.1002/art.23565. View

Ibrahim S, Siminoff L, Burant C, Kwoh C . Differences in expectations of outcome mediate African American/white patient differences in "willingness" to consider joint replacement. Arthritis Rheum. 2002; 46(9):2429-35. DOI: 10.1002/art.10494. View

10.

Whyte J, Hart T . It's more than a black box; it's a Russian doll: defining rehabilitation treatments. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2003; 82(8):639-52. DOI: 10.1097/01.PHM.0000078200.61840.2D. View

11.

Schultz I, Crook J, Meloche G, BERKOWITZ J, Milner R, Zuberbier O . Psychosocial factors predictive of occupational low back disability: towards development of a return-to-work model. Pain. 2004; 107(1-2):77-85. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2003.09.019. View

12.

Leung K, Silvius J, Pimlott N, Dalziel W, Drummond N . Why health expectations and hopes are different: the development of a conceptual model. Health Expect. 2009; 12(4):347-60. PMC: 5060505. DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-7625.2009.00570.x. View

13.

Scott D, Stohler C, Egnatuk C, Wang H, Koeppe R, Zubieta J . Placebo and nocebo effects are defined by opposite opioid and dopaminergic responses. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2008; 65(2):220-31. DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2007.34. View

14.

Iles R, Davidson M, Taylor N, OHalloran P . Systematic review of the ability of recovery expectations to predict outcomes in non-chronic non-specific low back pain. J Occup Rehabil. 2009; 19(1):25-40. DOI: 10.1007/s10926-008-9161-0. View

15.

Kravitz R, Cope D, Bhrany V, Leake B . Internal medicine patients' expectations for care during office visits. J Gen Intern Med. 1994; 9(2):75-81. DOI: 10.1007/BF02600205. View

16.

Hill J, Lewis M, Sim J, Hay E, Dziedzic K . Predictors of poor outcome in patients with neck pain treated by physical therapy. Clin J Pain. 2007; 23(8):683-90. DOI: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e3181468e67. View

17.

Vase L, Petersen G, Riley 3rd J, Price D . Factors contributing to large analgesic effects in placebo mechanism studies conducted between 2002 and 2007. Pain. 2009; 145(1-2):36-44. DOI: 10.1016/j.pain.2009.04.008. View

18.

Hirsh A, Atchison J, Berger J, Waxenberg L, Lafayette-Lucey A, Bulcourf B . Patient satisfaction with treatment for chronic pain: predictors and relationship to compliance. Clin J Pain. 2005; 21(4):302-10. DOI: 10.1097/01.ajp.0000113057.92184.90. View

19.

Cole D, Mondloch M, Hogg-Johnson S . Listening to injured workers: how recovery expectations predict outcomes--a prospective study. CMAJ. 2002; 166(6):749-54. PMC: 99453. View

20.

Bois M, Donceel P . A screening questionnaire to predict no return to work within 3 months for low back pain claimants. Eur Spine J. 2008; 17(3):380-385. PMC: 2270393. DOI: 10.1007/s00586-007-0567-8. View