A Crossover Design for Comparative Efficacy: A 28 Days-Randomized Clinical Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain of Degenerative Conditions

In physiotherapy practice, a number of patients are known to suffer from chronic pain which results in reduced activity levels, interference in sleep, enjoyment of life, mood, and relations with others. Cognitive behavioral therapy, in this aspect will provide a holistic approach to the available treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy has also been shown to target cognitive distortions such as pain catastrophizing, fear avoidance, overgeneralizing and others, all the while improving physical health, activity levels and quality of life. This study assessed the efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy in the management of patients with chronic pain at the University Teaching Hospitals in Zambia. A randomized clinical trial utilizing a crossover design was utilized for the study. A random sample of 32 participants was used in the study after fulfilling the study criteria. Data was analyzed using ANCOVA with alpha of 0.05. The study recorded small effects in the reduction of pain intensity in both phase one and two. In phase one, it also recorded small effects in general work interference, sleep interference and enjoyment of life interference but recorded medium effects in normal work interference and mood interference. Phase two of the study recorded small effect size in reduction of general work interference, normal work interference, mood interference, relations with others interference, sleep interference and Enjoyment of Life interference. Cognitive behavioral therapy ensures the management of chronic pain addresses areas in which an individual is affected by pain and which in turn exacerbate the chronic pain. Physiotherapy provides a more holistic approach when used in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy.