ABSTRACT
Pain is a complex experiential state that comprises a panoply of variables, each of which contributes to the interpretation of nociception as pain. The complexity of pain becomes especially noteworthy when it persists over extended periods of time, during which a range of psychosocioeconomic factors can significantly interact with physical pathology to modulate a patient’s self-report of pain and concomitant disability and response to treatment. Chronic pain disability is now appropriately viewed as a complex and interactive psychophysiologic behavior pattern that cannot be broken down into distinct, independent psychological and physical components. This biopsychosocial perspective has replaced the outdated biomedical reductionist approach of medicine. The intention of this chapter is to review the critical elements of an interdisciplinary treatment approach (based on this biopsychosocial perspective) that has been demonstrated to be efficacious when patients have progressed to the chronic pain disability stage, at which point their management becomes much more complex because of the interactive psychosocioeconomic factors involved.
