[THE MISTAKE OF CUT AND PASTE FROM ACUTE PAIN TO CHRONIC PAIN]

Area of Science:

• Pain Management
• Medical Research
• Evidence-Based Medicine

Background:

• Current chronic pain management tools are often ineffective and non-specific.
• Advanced pain techniques and off-label medication use lack rigorous clinical trial support and can be harmful.
• Physician-prescribed opioid use disorder is a significant public health crisis, with medications like pregabalin and duloxetine facing scrutiny for overstated benefits and understated risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the limitations and harms associated with conventional chronic pain treatments.
• To introduce physicians to a new set of safer, evidence-based tools for managing challenging chronic pain patients.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on chronic pain predictors.
• Analysis of the efficacy and safety of current pain management strategies.
• Identification and introduction of alternative, evidence-based treatment approaches.

Main Results:

• Pain-related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are more powerful predictors of chronic pain outcomes than psychological factors like depression or anxiety.
• Conventional treatments, including certain medications and advanced techniques, have demonstrated significant risks and limited efficacy.
• A substantial body of evidence supports alternative approaches over current standard practices.

Conclusions:

• There is a critical need for a paradigm shift in chronic pain management.
• Physicians require access to safer, more effective, and evidence-based tools to treat patients with problematic chronic pain.
• Future chronic pain treatment should prioritize patient beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors alongside safer interventions.