Psychological advances in chronic pain: a concise selective review of research from 2010

Abstract

It is difficult to hold an organized view of psychological research related to chronic pain. There are many different theories and variables and the volume of literature is vast. The purpose of this review is to highlight some key trends in this research in 2010. We conducted a search of the output of four prominent scientific journals in the field of chronic pain management. Five research topics from among those identified are summarized. Identified topics include psychological factors related to analgesic use, efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatments, and contextual approaches (including acceptance and mindfulness). The largest number of psychological studies categorized for this review focused on psychological factors in relation to opioid use. These studies include ones to identify risk factors for aberrant drug behavior. This result seems to reflect that the dominant approach to chronic pain remains a pharmacological one. At the same time treatment from within a broadly cognitive behavioral approach seems to have reached a level of relative maturity with questions frequently being addressed with meta-analysis. Otherwise, there are developing and promising trends, such as in new treatment models and uses of information technology.