Exploring exposure in vivo in chronic pain

In chronic pain patients, pain related fear considerably contributes to the maintenance of the experienced functional limitations. Pain related fear is fear of moving and/or fear of (renewed) injury, or fear of pain or other types of physical sensations, or fear of the future (for example of becoming restrained to a wheelchair, not being able to work anymore, or no longer being the person you always wanted to be). An exposure in vivo treatment (GEXP), in which patients are exposed step by step to the situations, activities or movements they are afraid of appears to be an effective treatment. Patients experience in various situations, both short and long term, fewer functional limitations and even less pain, and changes on the tissue level. Where traditional pain treatments often do not lead to the desired result, GEXP appears the appropriate treatment.