A more global approach to musculo-skeletal pain: expressive writing as an effective adjunct to physiotherapy

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Pennebaker’s Writing Technique as an adjunct to physiotherapy. Design: Forty outpatients with muscolo-skeletal pain were treated with Mézières physiotherapy for 10 sessions. Half of the subjects also wrote about difficult life experiences in 4 of these sessions. Results: Although both the Writing and Non-Writing groups displayed lower pain scores after physiotherapy, the difference was greater in the Writing group. Pain scores continued to decrease 6 months after physiotherapy in the Writing group alone. The postural evaluation revealed a greater improvement in the Writing group than in the Non-Writing group, while the TAS-20 and SCL- 90 scores decreased in the Writing Group alone. Conclusions: These results indicate that Pennebaker’s Writing Technique is an effective adjunct to physiotherapy insofar as it improves health at both the physical and psychological levels.