Graded Exposure and Behavioral Approaches

Uses

How it works

Highlighted claims

• Fear of harm and fear of pain are clinically distinct concepts, and addressing fear of harm through experiments is often more useful than trying to prevent pain. — Travel Physical Therapy and Pain Psychology
• Patients can rank activities by fear of harm, allowing therapists to design graded experiments that test those predictions. — Travel Physical Therapy and Pain Psychology
• Successfully completing a feared activity produces more durable change than verbal reassurance alone. — Travel Physical Therapy and Pain Psychology
• When a graded activity attempt produces distress, the therapist can adjust variables such as load, position, or range of motion to create a successful experience. — Travel Physical Therapy and Pain Psychology
• Fordyce's behavioral approach showed that attention given to pain behavior can reinforce and perpetuate pain-related disability. — Travel Physical Therapy and Pain Psychology
• Performing a movement in a modified position such as quadruped can separate the feared movement from weight-bearing to reduce threat and enable success. — Travel Physical Therapy and Pain Psychology