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Papers of the Week


Papers: 17 Aug 2019 - 23 Aug 2019

RESEARCH TYPE:
Psychology


2020 Apr


PM R


12


4

Lifestyle and Chronic Pain Across the Lifespan: An Inconvenient Truth?

Authors

Nijs J, D'Hondt E, Clarys P, Deliens T, Polli A, Malfliet A, Coppieters I, Willaert W, Tumkaya Yilmaz S, Elma Ö, Ickmans K
PM R. 2020 Apr; 12(4):410-419.
PMID: 31437355.

Abstract

Chronic pain has a tremendous personal and socioeconomic impact and remains difficult to treat. Therefore, it seems important to provide an update on the current understanding regarding lifestyle factors in people with chronic pain across the lifespan, and explaining that clinicians should address various lifestyle factors concomitantly into an individually-tailored multimodal lifestyle intervention for people having chronic pain. Lifestyle factors such as physical (in)activity, sedentary behaviour, stress, poor sleep, unhealthy diet and smoking are associated with chronic pain severity and sustainment. This applies to all age categories, that is, chronic pain across the lifespan. Yet current treatment options often do not, or only partly address the many lifestyle factors associated with chronic pain, or attempt to address them in a standard format rather than providing an individually tailored multimodal lifestyle intervention. The evidence regarding lifestyle factors is available in adults, but limited in children and elderly having chronic pain, providing important avenues for future research. In conclusion, it is proposed that treatment approaches for people having chronic pain should address all relevant lifestyle factors concomitantly into an individually-tailored multimodal intervention. Ultimately, this should lead to a higher clinical impact with higher effect sizes and subsequently decreasing the psychological and socio-economic burden of chronic pain in the Western world. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.