Examining the Relationship Between Chronic Pain and Alexithymia after Traumatic Brain Injury

A relationship between chronic pain (CP) and alexithymia (i.e, poor emotional processing) has been established in non-TBI populations. The premise is that poor emotional processing increases psychological distress that manifests as pain. CP and alexithymia are common following traumatic brain injury (TBI), but their relationship is unknown within the TBI population. In populations without TBI, alexithymia treatments have been found to effectively reduce CP and therefore may be a promising nonpharmacological alternative for treating post-TBI CP. The current objective was to examine the association between CP and alexithymia after TBI.