Effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) on non-specific chronic back pain: a randomized controlled trial with additional exploration of the underlying mechanisms.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Non-specific chronic back pain (CBP) is often accompanied by psychological trauma, but treatment for this associated condition is often insufficient.Nevertheless, despite the common co-occurrence of pain and psychological trauma, a specific trauma-focused approach for treating CBP has been neglected to date. Accordingly, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), originally developed as a treatment approach for posttraumatic stress disorders, is a promising approach for treating CBP in patients who have experienced psychological trauma.Thus, the aim of this study is to determine whether a standardized, short-term EMDR intervention added to treatment as usual (TAU) reduces pain intensity in CBP patients with psychological trauma vs. TAU alone.

Methods/design

SUBMITTER: Tesarz J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3765873 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature