Reframing chronic pain as a disease, not a symptom: rationale and implications for pain management.

Reframing chronic pain as a disease, not a symptom: rationale and implications for pain management. Postgrad Med. 2019 Jan 31;: Authors: Clauw DJ, Essex MN, Pitman V, Jones KD Abstract Chronic pain is a common public health problem that has a detrimental impact on patient health, quality of life (QoL), and function, and poses a substantial socioeconomic burden. Evidence supports redefinition of chronic pain as a distinct disease entity, not simply a symptom of injury or illness. Chronic pain conditions are characterized by three types of pain pathophysiology - i.e., nociceptive, neuropathic, and centralized pain/central sensitization -influenced by a cluster of coexisting psychosocial factors. Negative risk/vulnerability factors, e.g., mood or sleep disturbances, and positive resilience/protective factors, e.g., social/interpersonal relationships and active coping, interact with pain neurobiology to determine patients' unique pain experience. Viewing chronic pain through a biopsychosocial lens, instead of a purely biomedical one, clinicians need to adopt a practical integrated management approach. Thorough assessment focuses on the whole patient (not just the pain), including comorbidities, cognitive/emotional/behavioral characteristics, social environment, and QoL/functional impairment. As for other complex chronic illnesses, the treatment plan for chronic pain can be developed based on pain subtype and psychosocial profile, incorpo...
Source: Postgraduate Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Tags: Postgrad Med Source Type: research