Pain: Biopsychosocial mechanisms and management

Traditionally, pain has been viewed as a sensory event warning of tissue da mage or This explanation fails. to account for many of the experiences of p eople suffering from clinically painful conditions. Over the past two decad es, a new biopsychosocial perspective on pain has emerged. This perspective emerges that pain is a dynamic process that not only is influenced by biol ogical, psychological, and social mechanisms of pain, but also produces bio logical, psychological and social changes that can affect future responses to pain. This review presents findings from recent studies of.: biological, psychological, and social mechanisms of pain discusses the implications th ese findings for pain research assessment, prevention and treatment, as wel l as health care policy.