ReviewJournal of pain research2026
Effects of Graded Exposure on Functional Improvement, Quality of Life, and Mental Health in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in Journal of pain research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is a prevalent and disabling condition associated with impaired physical function and reduced quality of life. Graded exposure therapy (GEP), a cognitive-behavioral intervention targeting pain-related fear and avoidance, has been proposed as a non-pharmacological approach for CMP management. Objective: To evaluate the effects of GEP compared with non-GEP interventions in individuals with CMP. Methods: We searched electronic databases from inception to February 2025 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing GEP and non-GEP interventions in individuals with CMP. Primary outcomes included pain intensity and pain-related disability. Secondary outcomes included pain-related fear and cognition, health-related quality of life, psychological outcomes, sleep-related outcomes, behavioral adaptation, self-efficacy, and physical functioning. The certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: Eight RCTs involving 554 participants were included. Compared with non-GEP interventions, GEP was associated with improvements in pain-related disability and pain-related fear and cognition, including pain catastrophizing (Pain Catastrophizing Scale [PCS]: mean difference [MD] = -4.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] -7.20 to -1.69) and kinesiophobia (Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia [TSK]: MD = -4.57, 95% CI -7.11 to -2.03). Disability outcomes have showen beneficial effects across several instruments, although many estimates are based on individual studies. Effects on pain intensity were inconsistent, with significant reductions observed for Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS) (MD = -2.66, 95% CI -4.09 to -1.23) and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire Pain subscale (FIQ-Pain) (MD = -2.51, 95% CI -3.48 to -1.54). The certainty of evidence ranged from very low to moderate, with most outcomes being downgraded owing to the risk of bias and imprecision. Conclusion: GEP may improve pain-related disability and pain-related fear and cognition in individuals with CMP. However, the limited certainty of evidence and variability across populations, interventions, and outcome measures warrant cautious interpretation. Further high-quality trials with standardized outcomes and longer-term follow-up are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.