Beyond the Pain: Rethinking Chronic Pain Management Through Integrated Therapeutic Approaches—A Systematic Review

Chronic pain is inherently multifactorial, with biological, psychological, and social factors contributing to neuropathic pain (NP) and central sensitization (CS) syndromes. Comorbidity between functional disorders and the lack of clinical biomarkers adds to the challenge of diagnosis and treatment, leading to frustration for healthcare professionals and patients. Available treatments are limited, increasing patient suffering with personal and financial costs. This systematic review examined multisensory processing alterations in chronic pain and reviewed current pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. A structured search was conducted on the PubMed database using the keywords Central Sensitization, Fibromyalgia, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, and Neuropathic Pain, combined with the keywords Vision, Audition, Olfaction, Touch, Taste, and Proprioception. Papers were then filtered to discuss current treatment approaches. Articles within the last five years, from 2018 to 2023, have been included. Papers were excluded if they were animal studies; investigated tissue damage, disease processes, or addiction; or were conference proceedings or non-English. Results were summarized in table form to allow synthesis of evidence. As this study is a systematic review of previously published research rather than a clinical trial or experimental investigation, the risk of bias was assessed independently by at least two reviewers. 138 studies were identified and analyzed. Of these, 96 focused primarily on treatment options for chronic pain and were analyzed for this systematic review. There were a few emerging themes. No one therapy is effective, so a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis, including pharmacological, somatic, and psychological treatment, is generally predicted to achieve the best outcomes. Cranial neurovascular compromise, especially of the trigeminal, glossopharyngeal, and potentially the vestibulocochlear nerve, is being increasingly revealed with the advancement of neuroimaging. Cortical and deep brain stimulation to evoke neuroplasticity is an emerging and promising therapy and warrants further investigation. Finally, including patients in their treatment plan allows them control and offers the ability to self-manage their pain. Risk of bias limits the ability to judge the quality of evidence.