Patients living with fibromyalgia (FM) -- a disease that predominantly affects women and is characterized by chronic pain, fatigue and brain fog -- often find limited treatment options and a scarcity of explanations for their symptoms. Investigators have now found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can significantly reduce the burden of FM by, in part, reducing pain-catastrophizing, a negative cognitive and emotional response that can intensify pain through feelings of helplessness, rumination and intrusive thoughts. This finding is backed by neuroimaging data, evidencing reduced connectivity between regions of the brain associated with self-awareness, pain and emotional processing.
Patients living with fibromyalgia -- a disease that predominantly affects women and is characterized by chronic pain, fatigue and brain fog -- often find limited treatment options and a scarcity of explanations for their symptoms.
The research team for the study included researchers from three Mass General Brigham members: Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Mass General Brigham brings together 16 member institutions, including academic medical centers, top-tier specialty hospitals, community hospitals and more.
Each group participated in eight intervention sessions, consisting of 60-75-minute visits with a licensed mental health provider. Participants were primarily assessed for their levels of pain interference, or a measure of how much their pain disrupted their daily activities, pain catastrophizing, pain severity and the overall impact FM had on patients' quality of life.
"Prior to participants undergoing CBT, we saw that certain parts of the brain linked to self-awareness and sensation were very connected, suggesting patients were pertinently aware of the pain sensation they were experiencing and internalized these symptoms," said co-first author Jeungchan Lee, PhD, an instructor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation based at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and the Athinoula A.
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