Cognitive performance in patients with chronic central sensitization pain
Persistent pain in the absence of structural pathology remains a challenging issue for clinicians. Besides the suffering from the pain itself, chronic ‘unexplained’ pain is often accompanied by other debilitating symptoms such as fatigue, sleep difficulties, dizziness, psychological symptoms, and cognitive problems among others. A growing body of scientific research underlines the involvement of a common pathophysiological mechanism of central sensitization (CS), commonly known as an hypersensitivity of the central nervous system, in overlapping chronic pain conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). One of the numerous common features seen in the majority of patients with chronic CS pain is the presence of debilitating cognitive dysfunctions. Cognitive complaints are some of the most frequent and significant contributors to social and occupational dysfunctions in these patients, thus having direct implications for their daily functioning.
The aim of this dissertation was to investigate possible associated and influencing factors of cognitive impairments in chronic CS pain conditions such as CFS, FM and chronic WAD. More specifically, the role of pain, health-related physical fitness and exercise were studied with regard to cognitive performance.