Simultaneous Treatment for Depression and Chronic Back Pain
When the diagnosis of major depression in the chronic back pain patient is
missed or ignored, treatments strictly directed at the pain are much more likely
to fail. As concluded by Ohayon and Schatzberg (2003), the presence of a chronic
pain physical condition increases the duration of depressive mood, and chronic
pain patients seeking medical consultation should be routinely screened for a
major depression.
Treatment of depression associated with chronic back pain requires a
specialized approach. It is generally accepted that the pain and the depression
should be treated simultaneously in a multidisciplinary fashion. The treatment
of clinical depression most often includes psychological interventions (e.g.
counseling, relaxation training, etc) and anti-depressant medication.
In a recent review of the research from 1980 though 2000 that looks at
treatment of depression, it was found that the combined treatment approach of
medication and psychotherapy yielded better outcomes than either of the
interventions alone (Pampallona et al., 2004). Simultaneous treatment directed
at the chronic back pain is critical. It has been found that chronic pain may
interfere with depression improvement.
Treatment for the chronic pain might include such things as physical
rehabilitation aimed at restoration of function, trying to “normalize” one’s
life as much as possible even with the pain, appropriate medication management,
among other things. Multidisciplinary treatment of the chronic back pain and
major depression will ultimately give the patient more of a sense of control
over the pain and start a “positive spiral” toward physical and mental
re-conditioning.
More reading:
Source: Spine-health.com –
www.spine-health.com
Last updated: August 31, 2007
This information and the information on Spine-health.com is not intended as a
substitute for medical professional help or advice but is to be used only as an
aid in understanding back pain and neck pain.
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