3,082
Views
26
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Perspectives in Rehabilitation

Invalidation of chronic pain: a thematic analysis of pain narratives

, , &
Pages 861-869 | Received 14 Dec 2018, Accepted 24 Jun 2019, Published online: 10 Jul 2019
 

Abstract

Purpose

Many people with chronic pain report feeling disbelieved or disparaged by others regarding their pain symptoms. Given the widely documented relationship between stress and pain, the importance of identifying psychosocial stressors such as pain-invalidation is apparent. This study was designed to identify and illustrate using first-person narratives, the effects of pain-invalidation by the self, family, friends, and healthcare professionals, toward individuals with chronic pain.

Method

A systematic search of five databases was performed using a search strategy consisting of terms related to pain-invalidation. A review of 431 peer-reviewed journal articles, containing narratives from a pool of over 7770 study participants with a wide range of pain conditions, was conducted, followed by a thematic analysis to establish themes of invalidation experienced by those with chronic pain.

Findings

Five major pain-invalidation themes were revealed: Not being believed, lack of compassion, lack of pain awareness/understanding, feeling stigmatized, and critical self-judgement. Themes additional to pain-invalidation included: Threats to Self-Image, Loss of Identity, and Isolation.

Conclusion

Themes were largely interrelated and, together, build a picture of how levels of perceived social unacceptability of pain symptoms can impact on the emotional state and self-image of those with chronic pain. As such, pain-invalidation may potentially impede help-seeking or the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions.

    IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

  • Pain-invalidation can occur at the level of the self, social others, or healthcare professionals.

  • Pain-invalidation can arise through a lack of understanding by others in the social network about having chronic pain.

  • Pain-invalidation may be a barrier to seeking therapy for pain management and rehabilitation, and thus, efforts to identify and acknowledge invalidation experiences may be beneficial in the rehabilitation process.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express appreciation to librarian Ms. Terena Solomons for her expertise and assistance provided in developing a comprehensive search strategy. In addition, the authors wish to express gratitude to Ms. Helen Balfour for her assistance and specialist copyright advice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors wish to acknowledge support of the Australian Government through a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship issued to first author, Melinda Nicola.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 374.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.