Vranceanu Ana-Maria, Elbon Megan, Adams Margaritha, Ring David
Behavioral Medicine Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114 USA.
Hand (N Y). 2012 Sep;7(3):293-6. doi: 10.1007/s11552-012-9419-z.
Words can shape or reinforce a patient's coping strategies. We measured the emotional content of hand surgery words and some synonyms or alternatives in five categories (19 words total).
Healthy adult companions of 100 patients presenting to an orthopedic hand surgical practice were asked to score five hand surgery words and some synonyms and alternatives (19 total words) on three dimensions: affective/emotional (ranging from pleasant to unpleasant), arousal (ranging from calm to aroused), and dominance/control (ranging from dominated to feeling in control) using a validated methodology. Ratings were done using the self-assessment manikin-a validated graphic affective rating system.
The emotional reaction to "discomfort" and "ache" was more positive than "pain." The words "tear" and "defect" were more positive than "rupture." The words "tight" and "stiff" were more positive than "locked" and "frozen." The word "faded" was more positive than "degenerated," "diminished," and "wasted". The words "overused" and "worn" were more positive than "cracked," "inflamed," and "broken."
Some common hand surgery words have a relatively negative emotional content. Given that psychological distress is an important predictor of pain intensity and disability, additional research is merited to develop optimally positive language for describing musculoskeletal pathology.
词汇能够塑造或强化患者的应对策略。我们对五类手部手术相关词汇及其一些同义词或替代词（共19个词汇）的情感内容进行了测量。
邀请了100名前往整形外科手部手术科室就诊患者的健康成年陪同人员，使用一种经过验证的方法，从情感/情绪（从愉悦到不悦）、唤醒度（从平静到激动）和支配/控制（从被支配到掌控感）三个维度，对五个手部手术相关词汇及其一些同义词和替代词（共19个词汇）进行评分。评分采用自评人体模型——一种经过验证的图形情感评分系统。
对“不适”和“疼痛”的情感反应比对“疼痛”更为积极。“撕裂”和“缺损”这两个词比对“破裂”更为积极。“紧绷”和“僵硬”比对“锁住”和“僵硬”更为积极。“褪色”比对“退变”“减弱”和“萎缩”更为积极。“过度使用”和“磨损”比对“破裂”“发炎”和“断裂”更为积极。
一些常见的手部手术相关词汇具有相对负面的情感内容。鉴于心理困扰是疼痛强度和残疾的重要预测因素，值得开展更多研究，以开发出描述肌肉骨骼病理状况的最佳积极语言。
