Feeling stiffness in the back: a protective perceptual inference in chronic back pain.

ABSTRACT: Does feeling back stiffness actually reflect having a stiff back? This research interrogates the long-held question of what informs our subjective experiences of bodily state. We propose a new hypothesis: feelings of back stiffness are a protective perceptual construct, rather than reflecting biomechanical properties of the back. This has far-reaching implications for treatment of pain/stiffness but also for our understanding of bodily feelings. Over three experiments, we challenge the prevailing view by showing that feeling stiff does not relate to objective spinal measures of stiffness and objective back stiffness does not differ between those who report feeling stiff and those who do not. Rather, those who report feeling stiff exhibit self-protective responses: they significantly overes

SUBMITTER: Stanton TR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5575135 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature