Abstract
Purpose of Review
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain often co-occur. Understanding the shared mechanisms, signs to identify PTSD, and treatment options is integral in allowing providers to better serve their patients.
Recent Findings
Individuals with comorbid PTSD and chronic pain report greater PTSD symptoms, pain, anxiety, depression, disability, and opioid use than those with only one of these conditions. There are several empirically supported therapies for chronic pain, and for PTSD, as well as pilot data for a treatment of comorbid pain and PTSD.
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize current literature investigating the interaction between chronic pain and PTSD, and provide treatment recommendations for providers treating patients with chronic pain and PTSD.
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References
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Headache and Pain
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Kind, S., Otis, J.D. The Interaction Between Chronic Pain and PTSD. Curr Pain Headache Rep 23, 91 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-019-0828-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-019-0828-3