title: Effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment in chronic pain patients: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study systematically reviewed the evidence regarding the effects of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for treating chronic pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Systematic review.
  
  
  METHODS
  We screened MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CINHAL Plus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, the Francine Shapiro Library, and citations of original studies and reviews. All studies using EMDR for treating chronic pain were eligible for inclusion in the present study. The main outcomes were pain intensity, disability, and negative mood (depression and anxiety). The effects were described as standardized mean differences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two controlled trials with a total of 80 subjects and 10 observational studies with 116 subjects met the inclusion criteria. All of these studies assessed pain intensity. In addition, five studies measured disability, eight studies depression, and five studies anxiety. Controlled trials demonstrated significant improvements in pain intensity with high effect sizes (Hedges' g: -6.87 [95% confidence interval (CI95 ): -8.51, -5.23] and -1.12 [CI95 : -1.82, -0.42]). The pretreatment/posttreatment effect size calculations of the observational studies revealed that the effect sizes varied considerably, ranging from Hedges' g values of -0.24 (CI95 : -0.88, 0.40) to -5.86 (CI95 : -10.12, -1.60) for reductions in pain intensity, -0.34 (CI95 : -1.27, 0.59) to -3.69 (CI95 : -24.66, 17.28) for improvements in disability, -0.57 (CI95 : -1.47, 0.32) to -1.47 (CI95 : -3.18, 0.25) for improvements in depressive symptoms, and -0.59 (CI95 : -1.05, 0.13) to -1.10 (CI95 : -2.68, 0.48) for anxiety. Follow-up assessments showed maintained improvements. No adverse events were reported.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the results of our study suggest that EMDR may be a safe and promising treatment option in chronic pain conditions, the small number of high-quality studies leads to insufficient evidence for definite treatment recommendations.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Medical Hospital, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tesarz
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leisner
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janke
authors.forename: Günter H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Seidler
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Eich
authors.forename: Mechthild
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hartmann
mesh_terms: D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D057169:Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing; D006801:Humans
keywords: Chronic Pain; Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR); Systematic Review; Treatment