Noninvasive Nonpharmacological Treatment for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review

Course overview

This course is based upon material published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and is available as an open-access article. This review focuses on noninvasive nonpharmacological treatment for chronic pain including exercise, mind-body practices, psychological therapies, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, mindfulness practices, manual therapies, physical modalities, and acupuncture, and updates our prior Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) review. Many trials have examined the impact of these interventions on outcomes during or immediately after the course of treatment reporting improved function and reduced pain. However, given the persistence of chronic pain, understanding whether the benefits are durable would be very helpful for informing the selection of therapies. Therefore, this report focuses on the durability of treatment effects, defined as at least 1 month following the end of a course of treatment. This course on chronic pain treatments is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop or increase their knowledge of noninvasive, nonpharmacologic treatments for chronic pain. The course material includes a review of interventions. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A major benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Skelly, Chou, Dettori, Turner, Friedly, Rundelll, Fu, Brodt, Wasson, Kantner, and Ferguson Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding chronic pain management. Specifically, a professional will: Describe the benefits and harms of noninvasive, nonpharmacologic therapies for chronic low back pain Recognize the harms and benefits of noninvasive, nonpharmacologic therapies for fibromyalgia Summarize the benefits and harms of noninvasive, nonpharmacologic therapies for chronic tension headache Citation: Skelly AC, Chou R, Dettori JR, Turner JA, Friedly JL, Rundell SD, Fu R, Brodt ED, Wasson N, Kantner S, Ferguson AJR. Noninvasive Nonpharmacological Treatment for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review Update. Comparative Effectiveness Review No. 227. AHRQ Publication No. 20-EHC009. April 2020.