Comparison of the Effectiveness of Positivist Psychotherapy with Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Pain Perception of Males with Chronic Low-Back Pain

Chronic low-back pain is one of the psycho-physiological disorders with a high prevalence, resulting in severe health and economic consequences. Therefore, this study aims to compare the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy with cognitive-behavioral therapy on pain perception in males with chronic low-back pain.

This study was a quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest, and control group with 2 months follow-up. The statistical population included all men with chronic low-back pain referred to the Trauma and Pain Clinic of the Healing Neuroscience Research Center at Khatam Ol-Anbia Hospital in Tehran in 2019. Using the available sampling method, 45people were selected and randomly assigned to three equal groups. Therapeutic interventions for each treatment approach were applied in 8 sessions once a week, and each session lasted 90minutes for the experimental groups; however, the control group did not receive any intervention. A researcher-made demographic information checklist and McGill pain questionnaire were used to collect data. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and repeated-measures analysis of variance.

There was a significant difference in the linear composition of the pain perception variables, as well as its dimensions, including pain sensory, affective, evaluative, and miscellaneous in terms of group membership at the three stages of pretest, posttest, and follow-up, and the interactive effect of the group and time (p < 0.05). Besides, the two treatment groups (positivist psychology and cognitive-behavioral therapy) showed significant differences with the control group in terms of the components of pain perception and its dimensions (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the effectiveness of these two treatments (p>0.05).

Positive psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy effectively improve pain perception in patients with chronic low-back pain. Thus, these programs can be recommended as adjunctive therapy to trauma and pain clinics.