Course Description:

The prevalence rate of chronic pain in the general US population ranges between 10% to 20%. Several of the more common causes of chronic pain include traumatic imprints. Chronic pain has been found to commonly coexist with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. In the veteran population, the prevalence of PTSD has been found to be between 10% to 47% among those referred to a pain clinic or attending a multidisciplinary chronic pain center. Patients with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD have been found to experience more severe symptoms, greater functional impairment and disability, and higher rates of catastrophizing compared to patients with chronic pain only. As a result, patients who suffer from this comorbidity are often undertreated with traditional treatment modalities. Together, these findings support the need for tailored treatment interventions for patients with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD. Consequentially, theory-supported treatment programs have evolved overtime to meet the unique needs of patients who suffer from this type of comorbidity. There are three primary approaches to treating patients who present with both chronic pain and PTSD, including the parallel, sequential, and combined, or integrated, models. A multidisciplinary treatment approach to pain, using a CBT framework, has been found to be the most effective method for patients with comorbid chronic pain and PTSD.