"Living Well with Chronic Pain": Integrative Pain Management via Shared Medical Appointments

Area of Science:

• Integrative Medicine
• Pain Management
• Public Health

Background:

• Chronic pain affects millions, often leading to long-term opioid use.
• Non-pharmacological, multidisciplinary approaches are increasingly recognized for managing chronic pain.
• Shared medical appointments offer a structured format for delivering integrative care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an integrative, non-pharmacological approach for chronic pain.
• To assess improvements in health-related quality of life.
• To determine the impact on opioid medication use.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of a "Living Well with Chronic Pain" program.
• Eight weekly 3-hour shared medical appointments.
• Included education, meditation, yoga, acupuncture, CBT, and chiropractic care.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in Physical Functioning, Anxiety, Depression, Fatigue, Social Roles, Pain Interference, and Sleep Disturbance (P < 0.001).
• Opioid use decreased nonsignificantly during the 8-week intervention.
• Sustained reduction in opioid use was not observed at 6 and 12-month follow-ups.

Conclusions:

• A multidisciplinary, non-pharmacological integrative approach via shared medical appointments can improve chronic pain patients' quality of life.
• This approach enhanced physical, mental, and social health outcomes.
• It did not lead to increased opioid pain medication use.