Cited by 710Pediatric Pain Management TechniquesMusculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationPain Management and Treatment

Systematic review and meta-analysis of psychological therapies for children with chronic pain

Open access
Fisher, Emma, Heathcote, Lauren, Palermo, Tonya M., de C Williams, Amanda C, Lau, Jennifer, Eccleston, Christopher·2014·Journal of Pediatric Psychology

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effects of psychological therapies for management of chronic pain in children. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of psychological interventions treating children (<18 years) with chronic pain conditions including headache, abdominal, musculoskeletal, or neuropathic pain were searched for. Pain symptoms, disability, depression, anxiety, and sleep outcomes were extracted. Risk of bias was assessed and quality of the evidence was rated using GRADE. RESULTS: 35 included studies revealed that across all chronic pain conditions, psychological interventions reduced pain symptoms and disability posttreatment. Individual pain conditions were analyzed separately. Sleep outcomes were not reported in any trials. Optimal dose of treatment was explored. For headache pain, higher treatment dose led to greater reductions in pain. No effect of dosage was found for other chronic pain conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence for psychological therapies treating chronic pain is promising. Recommendations for clinical practice and research are presented.

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Crossref · 10.1093/jpepsy/jsu008

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99 of 99 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • There is substantial evidence that psychological interventions are effective at reducing pain severity, disability, and psychological distress (e.g., anxiety) in children with chronic pain.

    “There is substantial evidence suggesting these interventions are effective at reducing pain severity, disability, and psychological distress (e.g., anxiety) in children with chronic pain [13,14,15].”

    From Best-evidence for the rehabilitation of chronic pain part 1: Pediatric pain (2019) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Summary of findings (p. 22) reports significant reductions in pain and disability, with benefits varying by pain condition. The Conclusion (p. 29) reports improved depressive symptoms for some conditions but says evidence is insufficient to conclude that therapies reduce anxiety; the claim overstates the evidence for psychological distress. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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  • Cognitive techniques such as cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, and positive self-talk have been shown effective for reducing negative thoughts associated with pain and related disability.

    “Cognitive techniques such as cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, and positive self-talk, have been shown to be effective techniques for reducing negative thoughts associated with pain and related disability [10,13,14].”

    From Best-evidence for the rehabilitation of chronic pain part 1: Pediatric pain (2019) · cites this paper as [14]

    The Introduction (p. 3) describes CBT as challenging cognitions that exacerbate suffering, and the chronic-pain analysis (p. 15) finds a small post-treatment reduction in disability from psychological therapies. But the review does not establish that cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, or positive self-talk individually reduce pain-related negative thoughts or disability; its Interventions section (p. 7) lists problem-solving as a component, not a separately tested effective technique. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Conventional treatment has established positive effects.

    “This is not necessarily an argument against conventional treatment, which has established positive effects (Bruce et al., 2017; Fisher et al., 2014)”

    From Dispositional Mindfulness and Its Relationship With Distress and Functioning in Adolescents With Chronic Pain and Low-Level Pain. (2018) · cites this paper as Fisher et al., 2014

    The Conclusion (p. 29) reports that psychological therapies reduce pain immediately after treatment in children and adolescents with chronic pain. That supports positive effects for this type of treatment, but the broader phrase “conventional treatment” is not established by this review; the Conclusion also says evidence for maintenance of effects is weak. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Psychological interventions effectively reduce pain in headache, abdominal pain, and musculoskeletal conditions, and functional disability in abdominal and musculoskeletal pain.

    “Within pain conditions, psychological interventions have been found to effectively reduce pain in headache, abdominal pain, and musculoskeletal conditions, and functional disability in abdominal and musculoskeletal pain [14].”

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3 retracted

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2 of the 101 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. *Kashikar-Zuck, S., Ting, T. V., Arnold, L. M., Bean, J., Powers, S. W., Graham, B., . . . Lovell, D. J. (2012). Cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of juvenile fibromyalgia. Arthritis &amp; Rheumatism, 64 (1), 297-305.
  2. *Larsson, B., Melin, L., Lamminen, M., &amp; Ullstedt, F. (1987). A school-based treatment of chronic headaches in adolescents. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 12 (4), 553-566.

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Authors
Fisher, E., Heathcote, L., Palermo, T. M., de C Williams, A. C., Lau, J., & Eccleston, C.
Affiliations
King's College London (GB)
Venue
Journal of Pediatric Psychology
Published
2014-03-06
Volume
39
Issue
8
Pages
763-782
ISSN
  • 0146-8693 (ISSN-L)
  • 1465-735X
OpenAlex
W2142456684
Cited by
710
References
101
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 35 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 61 · 2015: 129 · 2014: 148 · 2013: 108 · 2012: 18
FWCI
18.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Pediatric Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • The University of Bath Online Publications Store (The University of Bath) (submittedVersion)
  • Pure (University of Bath) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Portal (King's College London) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Action Medical Research
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research (13/89/29)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K24HD060068)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pediatric Pain Management Techniques
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine › Pain Management and Treatment
Keywords
chronic pain, children, psychological intervention, headache, abdominal pain, musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain, pain-related disability, depression, anxiety, sleep, treatment dosage, pediatric pain management
MeSH terms
Child, Humans, Psychotherapy, Treatment Outcome, Chronic Pain, Pain Management

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