VIDEO: Chronic pain care ‘goes well beyond just opioids’

Chronic pain is a complex condition that requires integrative care, which can include proper medication use, cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness and physical therapy, according to a speaker at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting.

During a presentation, Michael Ashburn, MD, MPH, MBA, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Penn Pain Medicine Center, discussed treatment options for chronic noncancer pain, the role of opioids in acute pain and the tapering and discontinuation of chronic opioid therapy. He said that chronic pain care “goes well beyond just opioids,” and other methods such as aquatic therapy, yoga and tai chi are “very effective.”

In this video, Ashburn reviews highlights from his presentation.

“It’s important to assess patients for depression, anxiety and pain catastrophizing, and if they have those conditions, to implement treatment for those in addition to their chronic pain,” he said. “The effect on pain and quality of life of treating depression, anxiety and pain catastrophizing is actually additive to any treatment effects that people have to treat individual chronic pain.”