Integrative chronic pain management: a narrative review

Chronic pain, a pervasive public health issue, significantly contributes to the opioid crisis in the United States, where opioid-related deaths have escalated dramatically since the late 1990s. This narrative review explores integrative approaches to managing chronic pain, aiming to reduce reliance on opioid medications. It synthesizes evidence from randomized controlled trials, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews, focusing on various pain etiologies, including arthritis, musculoskeletal pain, postsurgical pain, cancer-related pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, and neuropathic pain. Key findings suggest that dietary interventions, lifestyle modifications, and complementary therapies, such as acupuncture, massage, and photobiomodulation therapy, can significantly alleviate pain across multiple conditions. These integrative strategies not only manage pain but also address the pain epidemic and the opioid crisis by offering personalized, multimodal treatment plans that consider the complexity of chronic pain, its psychological and social determinants, and the need for long-term management strategies.