Understanding and Managing Clinically Significant Pain in Patients with an Anxiety Disorder

It is now well established that chronic pain and various anxiety disorders frequently co-occur. Co-occurrence of chronic pain is often unrecognized in anxiety disorder settings; yet, when unaddressed, it can complicate treatment, reduce treatment effectiveness, and exacerbate functional limitations and suffering for patients. The purpose of this clinical synthesis is to describe the core features of clinically significant pain experiences, summarize findings from epidemiological studies of co-occurrence, describe biopsychosocial models and associated mechanisms posited to account for co-occurrence, and provide anxiety disorder practitioners with time-efficient pain assessment strategies and promising options for treating clinically significant pain presentations in their patients. Future directions are also briefly highlighted.