People, medicine, and society: An overview of chronic pain management

Abstract

Chronic pain, once termed a hidden epidemic, is gaining increasing visibility around the world. It places a huge burden on patients, their families, and the wider community, with profound adverse effects on function, well-being, and quality of life. It is also a socioeconomic problem, straining health-care systems globally. This article provides an overview of the changing landscape of chronic noncancer pain. The epidemiology, classification, pain-related neuroscience, problems with overemphasis on biomedical focus, and the importance of adopting a more holistic sociopsychobiomedical framework are discussed. The article concludes with a brief discussion on health-care delivery systems in the context of chronic pain.

Keywords

• chronic pain
• pain management
• delivery of health care