Body awareness, stress and symptoms in autonomic dysfunction in patients with chronic pain: an explorative study

Objective: To assess pain outcomes, stress levels and body awareness among patients with chronic pain and explore potential associations between these variables. Design: An explorative study. Methods: Patients with chronic pain in primary and specialist care were assessed regarding pain intensity using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS; 0–10 point scale) and stress levels using the Stress and Crisis Inventory (SCI-93; 0–140). To assess body awareness, multidimensional assessment of interoceptive awareness (MAIA; 0–5), a widely used self-report measure of interoceptive bodily awareness was used. Results: Participants (n = 42) reported an average NRS of 4.4, elevated stress levels and low body awareness. Stress levels were moderately correlated with pain intensity (r = 0.53; p