Managing chronic pain through cognitive change and multidisciplinary treatment program

Abstract

A program for enhancing the management of patients presenting with chronic pain is described, using a prospective controlled cohort study. The participants were 152 outpatients referred to a tertiary centre pain clinic. Intervention consisted of a cognitive behavioural program aimed at improving mood, functional capacity, and quality of life. Data from outcome measures were obtained before and after treatment and compared with data obtained from 48 waitlisted patients. Multivariate analysis of variance demonstrated a significant statistical difference between treated patients and controls as a result of the program, although clinical improvement was modest.

Acknowledgement

The authors acknowledge the helpful comments of Peter Drummond, Murdoch University, on an earlier draft of this paper.