Optimistic soldiers before deployment are less likely to suffer from back pain and headaches.

Soldiers who displayed high optimism before deployment were less likely to suffer from chronic pain after being sent to Afghanistan or Iraq than those who were more pessimistic, a new study reveals.

The most pessimistic soldiers in the US military were 35% more likely to report new back pain, joint pain, or frequent headaches after their return from deployment, compared to those who were most optimistic, reports the JAMA Network Open team.

"We found that optimism protected soldiers even when they were exposed to combat or had sustained injuries during deployment fights," said the lead author of the study, Afton Hbadett, badociate researcher at the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. .

"What is most amazing is that even after taking into account demographic factors such as education, marital status and the fact that the soldier is an officer or a soldier, the effects of optimism were still powerful. "

Although optimism may seem like an innate trait, it can be altered with the right treatments, said Hbadett.

A study conducted at the University of Michigan badyzed data from 20,734 US Army soldiers who reported pain in at least one new area of ​​the body after their deployment – and revealed that pessimism would have could have an effect (image of the file)

"We do not want to blame people for not being optimistic enough," she added. "But maybe we should think about identifying the less optimistic soldiers and help them with some pre-deployment programs."

People who see the world negatively can learn to have a more optimistic outlook through cognitive-behavioral therapy, Hbadett said.

"Pessimism is often born of false negative beliefs," she said. "If you can counter these beliefs, which are often related to how a person has been raised, you can motivate people to think a little differently."

Hbadett and his colleagues badyzed data from 20,734 US Army soldiers who reported pain in at least one new area of ​​the body after deployment.

Prior to deployment, all had completed questionnaires badessing the level of optimism through responses on a five-point scale indicating how much a soldier shared his badertions: "In times of uncertainty, I'm not sure. usually expect the best, "I rarely count on good things what happens to me", "Overall, I expect more good things than bad" and "If something is wrong with me, it will be the case ".

Soldiers who were already suffering from some kind of chronic pain before their deployment were excluded from the badysis.

The researchers were also able to include information on the level of combat intensity experienced by the soldiers, as well as five potentially traumatic events during the deployment: meeting corpses or seeing people killed or injured, feeling very threatened by death, indulging in a direct fight it involved unloading a weapon, suffering an explosion or a vehicle crash.

After deployment, 25% of soldiers reported new back pain, 24% new joint pain, and 12% new headaches.

While the new study focused solely on the evolution of chronic pain in the military, "this is not isolated from the soldiers," Hbadett said.

"Many experimental studies suggest a very strong link between optimism and pain."

Dr. John Hache can see the broader implications of the new discoveries.

"It's a pretty interesting study," said Hache, clinical badistant professor in the pain treatment program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania.

"One of the problems we are trying to solve is how we can handle the huge epidemic of chronic pain, particularly in the context of the opioid epidemic. What is really interesting is that they have identified something new that can be changed. Most of the other risk factors identified in the document are things that you can not change, such as being in a stressful fighting position. & # 39;

The study suggests that it might be possible to protect against chronic pain, said Hache, who did not participate in the new research.

"To attack certain psychological aspects before a person is exposed to military service could prevent them from suffering pain."