ABSTRACT

Pain is an alerter to us: it tells us that something biologically harmful may be happening to us. It can be a friend to us, but it also can be considered our enemy when it is overwhelming and prolonged. Unless we are one of the few misfortunate individuals who have been born with congenital insensitivity to pain (Sternbach, 1968), it has probably enveloped us all at some time or another in our lives, and led to decreased cognitive functioning, increased irritability, sleeplessness, and withdrawal from social interactions. Over 70 million people have chronic pain (Brena & Chapman, 1983)' the most frequent symptom presented to the primary care physician. In the United States alone, an estimated 700 million work days are lost per year (Bonica, 1985)' and the total cost of health care associated with pain is estimated to be 60 to 90 billion dollars annually.