Perceived helpfulness of 56 treatment options in patients with chronic pain: a retrospective review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain affects approximately 20% of US adults and often requires multiple treatment modalities. Although many therapies are available, less is known about which treatments patients perceive as helpful in real-world settings. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed intake questionnaire data from 226 patients evaluated at a multidisciplinary pain clinic between January 2023 and March 2024. Patients rated 56 pain treatments as helpful, unhelpful, never tried, or not sure. Helpfulness was calculated as the proportion of "helpful" responses among patients who tried each treatment. Logistic regression models examined predictors of helpfulness for treatments with helpfulness estimates ≥50% and key covariates were conducted for the seven most helpful treatments. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 45.1 ± 15.6 years, and 81.4% were female. The most frequently tried treatments were acetaminophen (90%), physical therapy (88%), and ibuprofen (83%). Treatments with helpfulness estimates ≥50% included massage therapy (77% [70%, 84%]), oxycodone (74% [65%, 82%]), psychotherapy (67% [58%, 77%]), hydromorphone (67% [54%, 79%]), physical therapy (62% [55%, 68%]), aquatic therapy (62% [50%, 73%]), and hydrocodone (61% [53%, 70%]). CONCLUSION: Patient-reported helpfulness varied across treatments, supporting multidisciplinary, patient-centered chronic pain care.