title: Comorbid pain and opioid addiction: psychosocial and pharmacological treatments.
abstract: Treating comorbid pain (nonmalignant) and opioid addiction is a complex endeavor that requires cooperation of multi-modal treatment teams incorporating pharmacological, psychological, and social components. There are multiple barriers for patients, mental health practitioners, and physical health practitioners to provide complete treatment for this difficult treatment population. In this article, we will review which treatments have been empirically validated in this treatment population, where further research is required, and considerations for potential "best approaches" to use for patient treatment while waiting for empirically validated treatment data. We will also discuss some complementary and alternative medicine approaches that have empirical validity in treating either pain or addiction individually, though empirical validity for the treatment of comorbid pain and addiction has not been established.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA. amy.wachholtz@umassmemorial.org
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wachholtz
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ziedonis
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003710:Demography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010146:Pain / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D054928:Validation Studies as Topic
chemical_list: D009292:Narcotic Antagonists