Chapter 26 - The Potential of the Analgesic Placebo Effect in Clinical Practice – Recommendations for Pain Management

Abstract

In this chapter we discuss the various aspects of the clinical applications of placebo effects. In clinical studies, a placebo intervention is often nearly as potent as the effects of the verum that is applied, and placebo effects can have enduring positive consequences. Most research has focused on healthy humans and it is not clear whether the results reported in these people can be transferred to clinical populations. Initial studies on this topic have suggested that patients may profit more from conditioning, which involves a true reduction of the pain experience, than from expectation alone. This current knowledge about the placebo effect, especially about the analgesic placebo effect, suggests that it is time to use it in clinical practice. The concept of the additional placebo effect as part of an active pain treatment enables an ethical application of placebo mechanisms that can enhance the efficacy of pharmacologic—and potentially also psychologic—interventions.