Pain rehabilitation’s effect on people in chronic pain : A prospective cohort study

• Published in: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Main Authors: Skúladóttir, Hafdís, Björnsdóttir, Amalía, Holden, Janean E., Gunnarsdóttir, Þóra Jenný, Halldórsdóttir, Sigríður, Sveinsdóttir, Herdís
• Other Authors: Faculty of Health Promotion, Sports and Leisure Studies, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, School of Health Sciences, University of Akureyri
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Svefn; Endurhæfing; Heilsufar; Verkir; Chronic pain; Health; Rehabilitation; Self-management; Sleep; Exercise; Prospective Studies; Humans; Quality of Life; Pain Measurement; Public Health; Environmental and Occupational Health; Pollution; Toxicology and Mutagenesis; Akureyri; University of Akureyri
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/2768; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910306

Funding Information: Funding: The University of Akureyri Research Fund (R1508, R1609, R1705, R1906), Research Fund of Ingibjörg R. Magnúsdóttir, Memorial Fund of Kristín Thoroddsen, and KEA Research Fund are thanked for funding. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Multidisciplinary long-term pain rehabilitation programs with a team of healthcare professionals are an integrated approach to treat patients with chronic non-malignant pain. In this longitudinal prospective cohort study, we investigated the long-term effects of multidisciplinary pain rehabilitation on the self-reported causes of pain, pain self-management strategies, sleep, pain severity, and pain’s interference with life, pre-and post-treatment. Eighty-one patients, aged 20–69 years, with chronic pain responded. The two most frequently reported perceived causes of pain were fibromyalgia and accidents. The difference in average self-reported pain severity decreased significantly at one-year follow-up (p < 0.001), as did pain’s interference with general activities, mood, walking ability, sleep, and enjoyment of life. At one-year follow-up, participants (21%) rated their health as good/very good and were more likely to state that it was better than a year before (20%). No change was found in the use of pain self-management strategies such as physical training at one-year follow-up. The intervention was effective for the participants, as reflected in the decreased pain severity and pain interference with life. Peer reviewed