Pain attenuation during task: a proof-of-concept study for a new scoring metric to capture individual differences in chronic pain changes by task engagement
5 affiliations
- 1Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- 2Krembil Brain Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
- 3Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- 4Schroeder Arthritis Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
- 5Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Abstract
IntroductionDistraction-based coping strategies are beneficial for some people living with chronic pain. However, there is no established method to capture the individual effect of distraction from pain through task engagement that considers fluctuations in chronic pain and the clinical relevance of changes in pain. Here, we present a new scoring system that aims to capture individual differences in the effect of distraction through task engagement in the context of chronic pain and considers whether changes are clinically meaningful.MethodsWe determined whether chronic pain attenuation during a task (PAT) is related to task engagement in cognitive attention-demanding numeric tasks that vary in difficulty, in people with chronic pain with different degrees of neuropathic pain based on painDETECT scores. Data from healthy controls (HCs, n = 27) were used to assess whether chronic pain impacted simple motor ability based on reaction time (RT) in a button-press task. In each person with chronic pain (n = 27), we determined their PAT scores and absolute change in chronic pain intensity and unpleasantness during both a simple motor control task and a hard task.ResultsThere were four main findings: (1) There was no relationship between PAT scores and task engagement in the hard task. (2) RTs were slower and more inconsistent in the chronic pain group compared to the HCs in the simple task, suggestive of diminished psychomotor abilities in the chronic pain group. (3) Mean RTs were negatively correlated with PAT scores for pain intensity in the simple task, with a greater per cent reduction of pain intensity for those with faster RTs. (4) Individuals with chronic pain who experienced increases in pain during the task had the highest painDETECT scores.DiscussionThis suggests that automated tasks may be useful in temporarily lowering chronic pain intensity. Additionally, the degree of neuropathic pain may diminish the distraction effect on chronic pain. The PAT scoring system has the potential to capture the individual effect of chronic pain attenuation during task engagement, and there may be unique pain-related characteristics between PAT sub-groups that require further exploration. We encourage more validation research of PAT's utility and identify beneficiaries of attention-based pain management approaches that use distraction to manage chronic pain.
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BibTeX
@article{sanmugananthan2026pain,
title = {{Pain attenuation during task: a proof-of-concept study for a new scoring metric to capture individual differences in chronic pain changes by task engagement}},
author = {Vaidhehi Veena Sanmugananthan and Vaidhehi Veena Sanmugananthan and Rima El-Sayed and Rima El-Sayed and Robert D. Inman and Robert D. Inman and Karen Deborah Davis and Karen Deborah Davis and Karen Deborah Davis},
journal = {Frontiers in Pain Research},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpain.2026.1945745},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fpain.2026.1945745},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Pain attenuation during task: a proof-of-concept study for a new scoring metric to capture individual differences in chronic pain changes by task engagement
AU - Vaidhehi Veena Sanmugananthan
AU - Vaidhehi Veena Sanmugananthan
AU - Rima El-Sayed
AU - Rima El-Sayed
AU - Robert D. Inman
AU - Robert D. Inman
AU - Karen Deborah Davis
AU - Karen Deborah Davis
AU - Karen Deborah Davis
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Frontiers in Pain Research
DO - 10.3389/fpain.2026.1945745
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpain.2026.1945745
AB - IntroductionDistraction-based coping strategies are beneficial for some people living with chronic pain. However, there is no established method to capture the individual effect of distraction from pain through task engagement that considers fluctuations in chronic pain and the clinical relevance of changes in pain. Here, we present a new scoring system that aims to capture individual differences in the effect of distraction through task engagement in the context of chronic pain and considers whether changes are clinically meaningful.MethodsWe determined whether chronic pain attenuation during a task (PAT) is related to task engagement in cognitive attention-demanding numeric tasks that vary in difficulty, in people with chronic pain with different degrees of neuropathic pain based on painDETECT scores. Data from healthy controls (HCs, n = 27) were used to assess whether chronic pain impacted simple motor ability based on reaction time (RT) in a button-press task. In each person with chronic pain (n = 27), we determined their PAT scores and absolute change in chronic pain intensity and unpleasantness during both a simple motor control task and a hard task.ResultsThere were four main findings: (1) There was no relationship between PAT scores and task engagement in the hard task. (2) RTs were slower and more inconsistent in the chronic pain group compared to the HCs in the simple task, suggestive of diminished psychomotor abilities in the chronic pain group. (3) Mean RTs were negatively correlated with PAT scores for pain intensity in the simple task, with a greater per cent reduction of pain intensity for those with faster RTs. (4) Individuals with chronic pain who experienced increases in pain during the task had the highest painDETECT scores.DiscussionThis suggests that automated tasks may be useful in temporarily lowering chronic pain intensity. Additionally, the degree of neuropathic pain may diminish the distraction effect on chronic pain. The PAT scoring system has the potential to capture the individual effect of chronic pain attenuation during task engagement, and there may be unique pain-related characteristics between PAT sub-groups that require further exploration. We encourage more validation research of PAT's utility and identify beneficiaries of attention-based pain management approaches that use distraction to manage chronic pain.
SN - 2673-561X
ER -