Chronic pain treatment should include psychological interventions

Date:
October 5, 2021
Source:
Association for Psychological Science
Summary:
New research examines psychological interventions for the treatment
of chronic pain, including the gap between the evidence of the
effectiveness of several psychological interventions and their
availability and use in treatment.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The latest issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest examines psychological interventions for the treatment of chronic pain, including
the gap between the evidence of the effectiveness of several psychological interventions and their availability and use in treatment.


==========================================================================
Pain is the body's way of alerting the brain to injury and
disease. Without a robust pain response, physical trauma could go
unnoticed and untreated. Some people, however, experience chronic pain
that lasts long after an injury has healed or has no easily identifiable
cause.

Unfortunately, treating chronic pain with over-the-counter and
prescription medication has its own health risks, including adverse side effects and addiction. In the latest issue of Psychological Science in the Public Interest (PSPI), a team of researchers explores how psychological interventions can be part of a comprehensive plan to manage chronic
pain while reducing the need for surgeries and potentially dangerous medications.

"There are several effective nonmedical treatments for chronic pain,
and psychological treatments emerge among the strongest of these," said
Mary Driscoll, a researcher at Yale University and first author on the
issue's main article. "People who engage in psychological treatments
can expect to experience meaningful reductions in pain itself as well
as improvements in physical functioning and emotional well-being."
The current state of care In many cases, the causes of chronic pain
are unknown, and the use of traditional medical interventions, such as
pain medication and surgery, may give little to no relief -- or make the condition worse. People with chronic pain often report frustrations with
health care systems and health insurance, which tend to be dismissive
or unsuccessful in addressing their complaints.

Psychological treatment may reduce the need for medications, surgeries,
and other invasive treatments that can be costly, ineffective, and
even dangerous.

And research suggests that the effects of psychological treatment can
be maintained for a lifetime.

"People with pain should feel empowered to select the psychological
treatment that is most appealing," said Driscoll. "Once they do, finding a psychotherapist who can provide this care and with whom they can establish
a meaningful connection will be a key factor in obtaining benefit." Psychological treatments Research has shown that psychological factors
can play a role in the onset, severity, and duration of chronic pain. For
those reasons, several psychological interventions have been shown to
be effective in treating chronic pain.

In the article, Driscoll and her colleagues describe the interventions
that have been most widely studied by the pain community, including:
* Supportive psychotherapy, which emphasizes unconditional acceptance
and
empathic understanding
* Relaxation training, or the use of breathing, muscle relaxation, and
visual imagery to counteract the body's stress response
* Biofeedback, which involves monitoring patients' physiological
responses
to stress and pain (e.g., increased heart rate, muscle tension)
and teaching them how to down-regulate these responses
* Hypnosis by a trained clinician, which may induce changes in pain
processing, expectations, or perception and incorporates relaxation
training
* Cognitive-behavioral therapy, in which patients learn to reframe
maladaptive thoughts about pain that cause distress; change
unhelpful behaviors, such as isolation and inactivity; and develop
helpful behavioral coping strategies (e.g., relaxation)
* Mindfulness-based interventions, which help to disentangle
physical pain
from emotional pain via increased awareness of the body, the breath,
and activity
* Psychologically informed physical therapy, which integrates physical
therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy
The PSPI report also addresses topics such as integrated pain care,
or the blending of medical, psychological, and social aspects of health
care; the future of pain treatment; and improving the availability and integration of pain-management strategies.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Association_for_Psychological_Science. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Mary A. Driscoll, Robert R. Edwards, William C. Becker, Ted
J. Kaptchuk,
Robert D. Kerns. Psychological Interventions for the Treatment
of Chronic Pain in Adults. Psychological Science in the Public
Interest, 2021; 22 (2): 52 DOI: 10.1177/15291006211008157 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211005175416.htm

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