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Review
. 2025 Apr:62:101977.
doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2024.101977. Epub 2024 Dec 13.

Recent advances in the treatment of chronic pain and substance use disorders

Karlyn A Edwards  1 , Michele J Buonora  2 , Jessica S Merlin  3 , Jane M Liebschutz  3
Affiliations
Review

Recent advances in the treatment of chronic pain and substance use disorders

Karlyn A Edwards et al. Curr Opin Psychol. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Among people with substance use disorders (SUDs), chronic pain is among the most common comorbid chronic health conditions. Chronic pain increases risk for poor SUD treatment outcomes, including risk for overdose. Given rising overdose rates across North America, a renewed research focus has emerged to better understand the contribution and treatment of chronic pain in the context of an SUD. A significant portion of this research has focused on behavioral interventions given their safety and efficacy in treating both conditions separately. Therefore, this article will describe the recent advances in the treatment of chronic pain and SUD, including promising care delivery models and behavioral treatments. Areas for further study will also be reviewed.

Keywords: Behavioral treatment; Chronic pain; Psychological treatment; Substance use disorder.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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