The following is a summary of “Evaluating an early Interdisciplinary Multimodal Assessment for Patients at Risk of Developing Chronic Pain: Results of a Multicentre RCT in Germany,” published in the April 2025 issue of Pain and Therapy by Szczotkowski et al. 

Individuals at risk for chronic pain frequently experienced notable disruptions in daily, social, and occupational activities, and early interdisciplinary multimodal assessment (IMA) offered a structured approach to align medical, psychosocial, and functional factors with the appropriate treatment pathways.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to assess the impact of IMA on chronic pain prevention and care improvement in adults.  

They assigned participants to either the intervention group (IG), which received an IMA based on standardized protocols, or the control group (CG), which underwent a unimodal medical pain assessment (MPA). They collected data on primary outcomes—Characteristic Pain Intensity (PI) and Disability Score (DS)—at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Secondary outcomes, including depression, anxiety, stress, catastrophizing, and health-related QoL, were also evaluated at the same time points.  

The results showed that 620 valid questionnaires (68.4%) were analyzed in 6 months. The mean reduction in Characteristic PI on the Numerical Rating Scale (0–10) was 1.6 points in the IG and 1.7 points in the CG, while DS decreased by 1.9 and 1.8 points, respectively. Most secondary outcomes improved, though no statistically significant differences were observed between groups. The IG showed a trend toward greater psychological benefit. Treatment in the IG emphasized physical activity and psychological or psychosomatic approaches, while the CG leaned toward medication adjustments.  

Investigators concluded that while early MPA and IMA showed promise in improving pain, function, and psychological outcomes for individuals at risk of chronic pain, future research requires control groups that accurately reflect standard care and longer follow-up periods to solidify these findings. 

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40122-025-00729-3