Case-Based Review

Nonpharmacologic Treatment of Chronic Pain—A Critical Domains Approach

Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management. 2016 February;23(2)

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Behavioral strategies for improving sleep, if used on a regular basis, can help individuals get needed restorative sleep with the additional benefits of improving mood, pain, fatigue, and mental clarity [76]. Some of these behavioral strategies focus on maintaining regular sleep routines (go to bed at the same time every night even on weekends), engaging in sleep conducive behaviors (eg, attempting to sleep only when in feeling sleepy), and avoiding stimulating activities (eg, watching action movies, or consuming nicotine or caffeine). Studies have shown that behavioral strategies targeting sleep appear to have a direct impact on pain symptoms and on functional interference resulting from nonrestorative sleep [77,78].

A good place to start would be directing Lisa to keep a sleep diary for one week. Here she would note the times she went to bed, how long it takes for her to fall asleep, how many times she awakens and gets up during the night, how long she sleeps and how she feels upon waking up (refreshed or still exhausted). Next, a list of behaviors that can help her sleep better can be offered ( Table 1 ). She can be asked, “What new good sleep habits from the list might you be willing to try?”

What stress reduction strategies can be recommended to the patient?

Stress

Stress management has long been a target of treatment in patients with chronic pain. Progressive muscle relaxation (PRM) [79] and autogenic training have typically served as an important foundation of behavioral intervention for chronic pain [80] although there are no randomized controlled trials for PRM as a stand-alone intervention and two separate trials of autogenic training failed to find superiority for this intervention [81,82]. Despite the lack of direct evidence, clinical experience and the knowledge that both relaxation techniques are commonly part of CBT for chronic pain, their efficacy is generally accepted.

An emerging area of nonpharmacologic treatment is mindfulness-based interventions [83], which can include mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy [84], which can be considered a hybrid between mindfulness meditation and CBT. These interventions are still relatively new and larger, better controlled studies are needed. In MBSR, the patient is directed to focus on one thing such as a sound, a pleasant scene or their own breathing. The practitioner is encouraged to keep thoughts present oriented and analytical concerns are to be gently dismissed in favor of focusing on the sounds, scene, or breath. A recent meta-analysis evaluating 15 studies in clinical populations reported that there were small to medium effect sizes for patients with chronic pain [85]. In another new meta-analysis evaluating only studies in chronic pain the authors reported that sleep quality and pain acceptance were the 2 variables with the largest effect sizes based on the 11 studies they evaluated [83]. Similarly, a meta-analysis that included both MBSR and ACT found that 22 studies of varying quality suggest significant but small effect sizes for pain (ES = 0.37) and depression (ES = 0.32) [86]. They concluded the mindfulness-based treatments were not superior to CBT but could be a viable alternative.