SYDNEY, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Retraining the brain to better regulate emotions can significantly reduce chronic pain, offering a promising new direction for treatment, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) said on Wednesday.
The new Pain and Emotion Therapy, developed by researchers at UNSW Sydney and Neuroscience Research Australia, focuses on strengthening emotional processing rather than directly targeting pain itself, said a UNSW press release on Wednesday.
Delivered entirely online, the therapy includes eight therapist-led group sessions via video, along with a self-guided app and handbook. The approach was designed to be accessible to people living with pain-related mobility challenges or in remote areas, the study said.
The approach has shown to deliver lasting pain relief and improved mental health in people with chronic pain. The randomized controlled trial involved 89 participants from across Australia and was conducted between March 2023 and September 2024.
Patients undergoing the therapy experienced a meaningful drop in pain intensity, equivalent to a 10-point decrease on a 100-point scale, six months after the intervention, said the study published in JAMA Network Open.
"This shows not only a clinical improvement, but one that makes a noticeable difference in the daily lives of the people affected," said Sylvia Gustin, professor of UNSW and co-lead of the study.
Chronic pain, which affects 30 percent of the global population, is often linked to poor mental health, including high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide, the study said.
"The resulting emotion dysregulation is an ill-understood and undertreated aspect of chronic pain, which we addressed in this trial," Gustin said.
While traditional treatments such as medication remain important, UNSW Conjoint Associate Lecturer Nell Norman-Nott, also co-lead of the study, said their limitations, especially opioids, make emotional-based therapies a vital complement. ■
