Psychosocial and Cultural Aspects of Pain

Abstract

Biomedical characterizations of pain posit that the existence and severity of pain can be attributed to a specific organic pathology: identifying and correcting the latter should result in eradication of the pain symptoms. While the simplicity of such cause-and-effect models can be attractive, they fail to take into consideration the role of psychological factors in the onset, maintenance, and exacerbation of pain and may thus limit a patient's response to treatment. The International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) defines pain as ``an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.'' Biopsychological characterizations such as this expand on biomedical models by recognizing that the experience of pain possesses both physiologic and psychological underpinnings. Concurrently addressing the physical, behavioral, and psychological components of pain has been shown to improve functioning and decrease pain-related distress and could potentially reduce the financial burden associated with pain treatment.