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Neuromodulatory treatments for chronic pain: efficacy and mechanisms

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 10, pages 167–178 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

Key Points

  • Chronic pain is common and has substantial negative consequences for individuals and society

  • As the brain is ultimately the organ that processes pain information, treatments that target brain activity have the potential to provide pain relief

  • Solid evidence indicates that hypnosis has short-term and long-term benefits for a variety of pain problems, and should be considered as a first-line treatment given its demonstrated efficacy and positive side-effect profile

  • Training in meditation shows promise for reducing chronic pain, although more research is needed to confirm the initial findings

  • Noninvasive brain stimulation is potentially effective for reducing chronic pain in the short term, but preliminary evidence suggests that brain stimulation alone might not have long-term benefits

  • Neurofeedback has some potential for reducing chronic pain, although the research findings suggest weak effects when this technique is used alone

Abstract

Chronic pain is common, and the available treatments do not provide adequate relief for most patients. Neuromodulatory interventions that modify brain processes underlying the experience of pain have the potential to provide substantial relief for some of these patients. The purpose of this Review is to summarize the state of knowledge regarding the efficacy and mechanisms of noninvasive neuromodulatory treatments for chronic pain. The findings provide support for the efficacy and positive side-effect profile of hypnosis, and limited evidence for the potential efficacy of meditation training, noninvasive electrical stimulation procedures, and neurofeedback procedures. Mechanisms research indicates that hypnosis influences multiple neurophysiological processes involved in the experience of pain. Evidence also indicates that mindfulness meditation has both immediate and long-term effects on cortical structures and activity involved in attention, emotional responding and pain. Less is known about the mechanisms of other neuromodulatory treatments. On the basis of the data discussed in this Review, training in the use of self-hypnosis might be considered a viable 'first-line' approach to treat chronic pain. More-definitive research regarding the benefits and costs of meditation training, noninvasive brain stimulation and neurofeedback is needed before these treatments can be recommended for the treatment of chronic pain.

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Figure 1: Noninvasive brain stimulation and neurofeedback techniques for the treatment of chronic pain.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants R01 HD070973 and R21 HD058049 from the NIH, awarded to M.P.J.

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  1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Harborview Medical Center, 325 9th Avenue, Seattle, 98104-2499, WA, USA

    Mark P. Jensen & Melissa A. Day

  2. Department of Psychology, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Carretera de Valls, s/n, 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    Jordi Miró

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M.P.J. and M.A.D. researched data for the article. All three authors made substantial contributions to discussions of the content, writing the article, and review and/or editing of the manuscript before submission.

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Competing interests

M.P.J. has published two books on the topic of hypnosis for chronic pain management (Hypnosis for Chronic Pain Management: Therapist Guide and Hypnosis for Chronic Pain Management: Workbook, both published by Oxford University Press), and receives royalties from the sales of these books. M.A.D. and J.M. declare no competing interests.

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Jensen, M., Day, M. & Miró, J. Neuromodulatory treatments for chronic pain: efficacy and mechanisms. Nat Rev Neurol 10, 167–178 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2014.12

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