Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
-
Multicenter Study
Complementary and alternative medicine use by primary care patients with chronic pain.
To describe the characteristics and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among primary care patients with chronic pain disorders and to determine if CAM use is associated with better pain control. ⋯ Complementary and alternative therapies were popular among patients with chronic pain disorders surveyed in academic primary care settings. When asked to choose between traditional therapies or CAM, most patients still preferred traditional therapies for pain relief. We found no association between reported CAM usage and pain severity, functional status, or self-efficacy.