International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

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Dear Colleagues,

Chronic pain is a clinical problem of great relevance worldwide due to the biopsychosocial limitations and difficulties that it causes. The biopsychosocial clinical model converges the understanding of the chronic pain in patients towards a central perspective, with the aim of addressing different spheres of the same whole: a somatosensory sphere, a cognitive–evaluative sphere, and a motivational–affective sphere. The COVID-19 pandemic has led us to consider new clinical approaches to chronic pain in patients such as telematic interventions. Mental health is critical in both general patients and patients with chronic pain in particular. The presence of high levels of anxiety, suicidal or dark thoughts, depression, stress, and low mood, are some of the clinical problems that may accompany patients with chronic pain. The aim of this Special Issue is to collate the latest high-quality clinical articles and systematic reviews through meta-analyses (also umbrella reviews with meta-meta-analyses), which address psychosocial and mental health issues in chronic pain patients (both face-to-face and telematically) under the biopsychosocial model. Clinical research, innovative case series (with follow-up), and systematic reviews with meta-analysis are the types of papers that we are inviting for submission to this Special Issue.

Behavior modification techniques in patients with chronic pain;
Telematic interventions for chronic pain patients;
Multimodal physiotherapy approach under the biopsychosocial model for the chronic pain patient;
Educational interventions for pain patients;
Chronic pain in children population;
Therapeutic exercise interventions on psychosocial variables.

Dr. Ferran Cuenca-Martínez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

chronic pain
biopsychosocial
therapeutic exercise
multimodal physiotherapy
telematic interventions
mental health

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

18 pages, 408 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predictors of Psychological Distress in Women with Endometriosis during the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Roxana Schwab, Kathrin Stewen, Laura Ost, Tanja Kottmann, Susanne Theis, Tania Elger, Mona Wanda Schmidt, Katharina Anic, Stefanie Roxana Kalb, Walburgis Brenner and Annette Hasenburg

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4927; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084927 - 18 Apr 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2570

Abstract

Background: Endometriosis is a multifaceted chronic pain condition that can have a negative impact on mental health. Patients suffering from chronic pain may face an additional psychological burden during adversity, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The main aim of this research was to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported depression and anxiety, the influence of demographic, endometriosis-specific, pandemic-specific factors, and resilience on mental health outcomes of patients with endometriosis. Methods: An online survey was conducted through patient support groups of women suffering from endometriosis during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The PHQ-4 questionnaire, which combines two items of the Patient Health Questionnaire for Depression (PHQ-2) and two items from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-2) was used to assess self-reported mental health. The Brief Resilience Score (BRS) was employed to evaluate resilience. Independent risk and protective factors for mental health were investigated by multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: The PHQ-4 questionnaire was completed by 274 respondents. More than 40% reached depression (PHQ-2) and anxiety (GAD-2) scores of ≥3, and more than 20% achieved PHQ-2 and GAD-2 scores of ≥5. High resilience was found to be a reliable and strong independent protector for the probability of developing adverse psychological outcomes: OR 0.295, p < 0.001 for developing generalized anxiety disorder (GAD-2 ≥ 3), and OR 0.467, p < 0.001 for having major depression (PHQ-2 ≥ 3). Conclusions: Pain-induced disability is an independent risk factor for developing major depression and anxiety, while resilience was identified as a potential protective parameter in terms of positive psychological outcomes in women with endometriosis. The results of this study may help to identify women at risk for adverse mental health outcomes and should encourage healthcare practitioners to establish strategies for the reduction of negative psychological and psychiatric impacts on patients with endometriosis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Approach to Chronic Pain and Mental Health)

Review

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49 pages, 14469 KiB

Open AccessReview

Effectiveness of Telematic Behavioral Techniques to Manage Anxiety, Stress and Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

by Ferran Cuenca-Martínez, Luis Suso-Martí, Aida Herranz-Gómez, Clovis Varangot-Reille, Joaquín Calatayud, Mario Romero-Palau, María Blanco-Díaz, Cristina Salar-Andreu and Jose Casaña

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(6), 3231; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063231 - 9 Mar 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3051

Abstract

Anxiety, depressive symptoms and stress have a significant influence on chronic musculoskeletal pain. Behavioral modification techniques have proven to be effective to manage these variables; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for an alternative to face-to-face treatment. We conducted a search of PubMed, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Web of Science, APA PsychInfo, and Psychological and Behavioural Collections. The aim was to assess the effectiveness of telematic behavioral modification techniques (e-BMT) on psychological variables in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain through a systematic review with meta-analysis. We used a conventional pairwise meta-analysis and a random-effects model. We calculated the standardized mean difference (SMD) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Forty-one randomized controlled trials were included, with a total of 5018 participants. We found a statistically significant small effect size in favor of e-BMT in depressive symptoms (n = 3531; SMD = −0.35; 95% CI −0.46, −0.24) and anxiety (n = 2578; SMD = −0.32; 95% CI −0.42, −0.21) with low to moderate strength of evidence. However, there was no statistically significant effect on stress symptoms with moderate strength of evidence. In conclusion, e-BMT is an effective option for the management of anxiety and depressive symptoms in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. However, it does not seem effective to improve stress symptoms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Approach to Chronic Pain and Mental Health)

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