JOURNAL ARTICLE
REVIEW
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

How to investigate: Chronic pain.

Chronic pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience persisting longer than the normal process of healing, usually longer than 3 months. About a fifth of the world's population is believed to suffer from chronic pain. In Europe, chronic pain accounts for nearly 500 m lost working days, and it costs the European economy >€34 billion (£28 billion) every year. Establishing a reliable diagnosis is the primary challenge in evaluating a patient with chronic pain. Common diagnoses not to miss include seronegative spondyloarthritides, endocrine abnormalities including severe vitamin D deficiency and polymyalgia rheumatica. Once important or treatable diagnoses have been ruled out, the history can be used as a tool to establish a therapeutic plan for shared decision-making using the biopsychosocial model. Onward referral to pain clinics can be helpful for more involved patient management, but often good outcomes are achieved with the support of primary care.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app