The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has published new medical treatment guidelines for providing care to workers with chronic pain. The new guidelines, which represent the latest chapter in ACOEM’s comprehensive publication Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines, are available online now; in September, a print version will be available.
More than 200 recommendations for chronic pain are outlined in the new evidence-based guidelines, which were developed by a multi-disciplinary panel of national experts and were reviewed by representatives of leading medical and health organizations.
The recommendations focus on diagnostic and other testing and treatments for several chronic pain conditions, including: complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), neuropathic pain, trigger points/myofascial pain, chronic persistent pain, fibromyalgia and chronic low back pain.
An extensive volume of literature was utilized to develop the recommendations, which feature more than 1,500 references, including 546 randomized controlled trials.
“These guidelines were developed using ACOEM’s published methodology, which incorporates the highest scientific standards for reviewing evidence-based literature, ensuring the most rigorous, reproducible, and transparent occupational health guidelines available,” said Editor-in-Chief Kurt T. Hegmann, MD, MPH.
“Literally thousands of hours of review of the available scientific literature went into this process, yielding what we consider state-of-the-art medical guidelines.”
Other highlights of the new chronic pain guidelines include:
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