Findings offer preliminary evidence for the benefit of GrpMI to improve well-being and reduce anxiety in women with FM. Findings also suggest that GrpMI may help diminish pain intensity, state depression, and the impact of FM on functional capacity and health, but further studies are needed to establish efficacy.
The aim of this study was to explore differential psychological profiles among patients with chronic pain with and without fibromyalgia, and to determine the results of the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for pain. Thirty patients with chronic pain and 60 patients with fibromyalgia were referred to 10 weekly sessions of CBT in a general hospital and were evaluated in pain‐related variables, psychopathological symptoms, coping strategies, resilience, and quality of life. The program was implemented in specific groups for patients with fibromyalgia and nonfibromyalgia chronic pain. After the intervention, patients with fibromyalgia showed higher levels of psychopathology, rated their health status as poorer, and presented larger amplification of symptoms, higher levels of somatization, a more ruminating style of thinking and greater distress. Patients without fibromyalgia achieved better therapeutic results in both pain intensity (d = 0.39 vs. d = 0.12) and psychopathological distress (d = 0.77 vs. d = 0.11) compared to patients with fibromyalgia. Therefore, differential profiles and limited therapeutic results in fibromyalgia patients suggest the need to outline differentiated treatments and include other therapeutic strategies.
Objectives
Chronic
pain affects 1 in 5 Europeans, with a prevalence in Spain of 11%. It is one of the main causes of medical consultation and is associated with high personal, social, and economic costs with diverse psychological repercussions. Several studies have shown the effectiveness of psychological therapies in the treatment of chronic pain, including mindfulness-based therapies. In this regard, mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM) has evidenced significant positive changes in patients with chronic pain, but so far, no RCT study has been conducted. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to explore the results of the MBPM program with chronic pain patients. Additionally, we will analyze the differential efficacy of the MBPM program on fibromyalgia versus non-fibromyalgia chronic pain patients.
Methods
Ninety patients with chronic pain were randomized to experimental group MBPM (50 patients) and wait-list control group (40 patients) and assessed at pre- and post-treatment in demographic and pain-related variables, psychopathological symptoms, cognitive variables, resilience, and quality of life.
Results
Findings showed moderate to large effects in favor of the experimental group in pain management and acceptance, use of analgesics, psychopathological symptoms, general negative thoughts, self-blame, mental-health-related quality of life, and resilience. Non-fibromyalgia chronic pain patients benefited significantly more than participants with fibromyalgia.
Conclusions
The positive impact of the MBPM program on critical variables related to chronic pain provides evidence of its efficacy, which could be enhanced with the inclusion of complementary therapeutic CBT components to address sleep problems, need for control, and rumination.
Trial Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03992612).
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