An interdisciplinary approach to pain management that includes pharmacological, biopsychosocial, and behavioral interventions has been shown in past research to be more effective than medication, alone. However, little attention has been paid to patients' attitudes toward this comprehensive approach to chronic pain, which may affect treatment adherence and clinical outcomes. A recent study published in Current Medical Research and Opinion examined how patients enrolled in a comprehensive chronic pain rehabilitation program perceived their treatment. 498 adults (mean age = 49 years) were interviewed using survey measures at admission and discharge. The researchers found that patients' reported pain (both severity and interference) decreased significantly after the program. Eighty-five percent of patients endorsed relaxation skills as the most important pain management skill they learned. Moderating and modifying behavior and engaging in physical interventions like physical therapy, exercise or stretching were also highly endorsed by participants. Interestingly, none of the patients endorsed opioids as one of the most important parts of their treatment. The authors hope these results may be used to facilitate conversations about integrated pain management between patients and providers.

Research addressing chronic back pain in younger adults has shown that certain neuromuscular impairments associated with symptoms of back pain lead to different motor strategies to achieve the same functional task. In order to explore this relationship in an older adult population, Makris et al examined the effects of neuromuscular impairments on mobility in patients with and without back pain in a cross-sectional study of 430 older adults (135 older adults with back pain). Mobility was assessed in the form of gait speed, standing balance, a chair stand task, and basic lower extremity function. Measuring leg strength, velocity, and coordination, as well as knee and ankle range of motion assessed neuromuscular impairment. Makris et al found that trunk extensor muscle endurance, leg strength, and coordination were significantly decreased in older adults with back pain, as compared to those without pain. Additionally, participants with back pain had a slower measured gait speed, chair stand, and worse lower extremity function. From these results, the authors recommend that resistance training rehabilitation programs for older adults with back pain are tailored toward neuromuscular impairments "most prominent among those with back pain to enhance mobility," such as trunk extensor muscle endurance. 

Time: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Location: Call 212-746-7362

Presenters: Dr. Erin York Cornwell & Dr. Nancy Wells

Monthly TRIPLL Work in Progress (WIP) seminars are primarily devoted to reviewing and critiquing grant proposals prior to submission. Seminars serve as a "mini-study section," where proposals are carefully reviewed in advance by seminar attendees and interdisciplinary feedback is given to the presenter. Presenters circulate their materials one week in advance of the seminar to allow group members to carefully review the work. WIP seminars have helped enhance the grant-writing skills of investigators who have gone on to obtain federal and nonfederal funding. If you are interested in learning more about our WIP Seminars, please contact Zachary Goodman at [email protected].

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Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Funding Amount : Variable

Due Date: 3 PM, March 15, 2016 for online portion of application.

NIA funded Edward R. Roybal Center with a focus on persistent pain due to both cancer and non-cancer related causes. TRIPLL is a collaboration between investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University in Ithaca and The Hebrew Home at Riverdale.