Farzad, M., MacDermid, J., Ring, D., Shafiee, E. · Rehabilitation Research and Practice · 2021
Of 10 identified studies (7 RCTs, 3 cohorts) addressing psychological aspects of shoulder pain, 8 used cognitive approaches including EFT among several other methods (pain coping strategies, mindfulness training, CBT, virtual reality cognitive therapy); reduction of pain intensity and catastrophic thinking was achieved in most studies using a biopsychosocial approach (70%).
If a biopsychosocial approach that includes tapping continues to show promise for shoulder pain, it could give physical therapy patients a low-cost add-on they could practice themselves at home between appointments, easing the catastrophic thinking that so often makes chronic pain feel worse. Unlike the physical therapy itself, which requires a clinician's hands and a scheduled slot, tapping is something the patient owns and can reach for whenever the pain spikes.
Since catastrophic thinking eased alongside pain in the biopsychosocial studies reviewed here, a useful next step would be pairing a tapping-based add-on with objective measures of central pain sensitization or inflammatory markers, to see whether calming catastrophic thoughts about shoulder pain also shows up as measurable changes in how the body processes pain signals. A trial directly comparing tapping against the other cognitive approaches named in this review, such as mindfulness, CBT, and virtual reality, could also clarify which piece of the biopsychosocial toolkit does the most work for this condition.
| Design | Review |
|---|---|
| Participants | 10 studies pooled |
| Population | patients with shoulder pain (with or without neck pain), across the reviewed literature |
| Comparison group | varied (usual care vs. psychological interventions in included RCTs) |
| Outcome measures | pain intensity, cognitive and emotional factors related to pain (varied measures) |
| Journal | Rehabilitation Research and Practice |
| Year | 2021 |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Method | EFT / tapping |
| Publication type | Review or meta-analysis |
| Verification | ✓ Confirmed against the primary source |
Farzad, M., MacDermid, J., Ring, D., & Shafiee, E. (2021). A scoping review of the evidence regarding assessment and management of psychological features of shoulder pain. Rehabilitation Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/7211201
This record is part of the Tapping Evidence Base — an openly-sourced, fully-referenced directory of the research on EFT/tapping. Explore more studies on Other Physical Conditions
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