Biofeedback for pain management in traumatised refugees

Chronic pain (CP) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are both frequent and often comorbid in refugees. To date, few controlled trials have studied the efficacy of treatments targeting this comorbidity; no treatment guidelines yet exist. The authors examined the feasibility and efficacy of shor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive behaviour therapy 2009, Vol.38 (3), p.184-190
Main Authors: Muller, Julia, Karl, Anke, Denke, Claudia, Mathier, Fabienne, Dittmann, Jennifer, Rohleder, Nicolas, Knaevelsrud, Christine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biofeedback, Psychology
Chronic Disease
Disability Evaluation
Female
Humans
Male
Pain - diagnosis
Pain Management
Pain Measurement
Psychotherapy - methods
Refugees - psychology
Refugees - statistics & numerical data
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - epidemiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - therapy
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Chronic pain (CP) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are both frequent and often comorbid in refugees. To date, few controlled trials have studied the efficacy of treatments targeting this comorbidity; no treatment guidelines yet exist. The authors examined the feasibility and efficacy of short-term cognitive behavioural biofeedback (BF) addressing CP in traumatised refugees. The sample comprised 11 severely traumatised refugees with CP and PTSD (mean age = 36 years, SD = 6), who underwent assessment with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale, Pain Disability Index, and Visual Rating Scale. Additionally, coping with pain and psychotherapy tolerance were assessed. Acceptance of BF was high. Pre-post effects were small to medium for increased pain management and associated heart rate reactivity but large for coping with pain. The results encourage further research to confirm whether BF is indicated as a treatment component, but not a stand-alone treatment, for traumatised refugees with comorbid CP and PTSD.
ISSN:1651-2316
DOI:10.1080/16506070902815024