Can olfactory training change the psychosocial aspects of chronic pain?

Abstract

Pain and smell are the oldest senses for apperceive our environment. It is known that chronic pain and olfaction share common limbic cortical regions which are the main parts of the pain neuromatrix such as the anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and orbitofrontal cortex. Also, these regions point out the psychosocial aspects of chronic pain. And currently, the most challenging part of chronic pain management is the psychosocial aspect such as kinesiophobia, catastrophizing, or depression. Thus, the connection between olfaction and pain has promising clues to determining new combined therapies with odor training. According to intriguing brain imaging and genetic studies, we hypothesized that patients with chronic pain may have differentiated olfactory thresholds. Further, the additional odor training to the traditional therapeutic approach could be beneficial regarding the patients’ pain perspective and psychosocial domains.