Abstract
Summary: There is increasing evidence that psychological factors (e.g., pain coping strategies) play an important role in older adults’ adjustment to musculoskeletal pain. Therefore, interest in the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (e.g., pain coping skills training) to help older adults manage musculoskeletal pain is growing. In the present article, the first section reviewed the background on the necessary of cognitive behavioral therapy for managing musculoskeletal pain. The second section highlighted five techniques mainly used in pain coping skills training for musculoskeletal pain: cognitive restructuring, relaxation, distraction, pleasant activity scheduling, and activity-rest cycling. The third section introduced two printed materials newly developed for pain coping skills training and exercise therapy among older Japanese with knee pain. The final section of the present paper discussed important future directions for working within this research area. The present review revealed that it is important to apply the cognitive behavioral therapy (pain coping skills training) in management of musculoskeletal pain.
