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No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing EMDR βan evidence-based approach to eliminate emotional distress from traumatic experiencesβwas recently suggested for the treatment of chronic pain.
The aim of this study was to estimate preliminary efficacy of a pain-focused EMDR intervention for the treatment of non-specific chronic back pain CBP.
After baseline assessment, patients were randomized to intervention or control group The control group received TAU alone. Clinical relevance of changes was determined according to the established recommendations. Assessments were conducted at the baseline, posttreatment, and at a 6-month follow-up. Intention-to-treat analysis with last observation carried forward method was used. Keywords: chronic back pain, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, psychological trauma, treatment.
Chronic back pain CBP is common and of socioeconomic relevance 1 , 2. For the individual patient, CBP is associated with serious disability and reduced quality of life [e. This might be the case because many of nsCBP patients report high emotional distress 10 β 13 , but particularly for nsCBP patients with high degrees of emotional distress, classic pain-psychotherapeutic approaches are often insufficient One explanation might be that psychotherapeutic attention paid to patients affected by pain had long focused mainly on cognitive-behavioral factors such as dysfunctional coping strategies and maladaptive behavioral patterns This neglected the fact that emotional distress, e.
