Cognitive-behavioral approaches to pain management in rheumatoid arthritis

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on the topic of cognitive-behavioral approaches to pain management for persons with rheumatoid arthritis. Existing studies offer support for the usefulness of cognitive-behavioral techniques, but methodologic limitations were identified. Although the core element in rheumatoid arthritis pain management is optimal rheumatologic care, an important role also exists for strategies that seek to reduce the cognitive-evaluative aspects of arthritis pain.