Individual experiences of an acceptance-based pain management programme: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Acceptance of pain has been found to play an important role in adjusting to chronic pain, and the evidence-base is growing with regards to the effectiveness of acceptance-based interventions such as acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness and contextual cognitive behavioural therapy within pain management settings. Despite the growing interest in such interventions, previous studies into acceptance-based pain management programmes (PMPs) are quantitative and the exact processes at work during such programmes remain unknown. This study aims to add to previous quantitative research in the area by qualitatively exploring individual experiences of attending an acceptance-based PMP and identifying the key constituents of the programme that participants felt facilitated change.

Accepting low back pain: is it related to a good quality of life?

Objectives: Whether individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) are willing to accept their pain, is of interest to pain management, but how far is the acceptance of pain related to a good quality of life (QoL)? Recently available measures now enable this question to be investigated; these are (1) the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ) and a revised version, here described as a short-form (SF-CPAQ), and (2) the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL)-Pain, which is composed of the generic WHOQOL-100 profile (25 facets in 6 domains), and 4 additional facets within a specific pain and discomfort module (PDM).

Method: Eighty-six CLBP outpatients (62.8% female, mean age 54.