11. Raja et al. 2020

Introduction

  • Pain: an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage or described in terms of such damage

Pro and con arguments for updating the IASP definition

  • Although tissue injury is a common antecedent to pain, pain can be present even when tissue damage is not discernible
  • Different definitions of pain
  • Criticisms:
    • Redundant
    • Outdated
    • Lacks precision

Pain

  • Pain: an aversive sensory and emotional experience typically caused by, or resembling that caused by, actual or potential tissue injury

Notes

  • Pain is always a subjective experience that is influenced to varying degrees by biological, psychological, and social factors
  • Pain and nociception are different phenomena: the experience of pain cannot be reduced to activity in sensory pathways
  • Through their life experiences, individuals learn the concept of pain and its applications
  • A person’s report of an experience as pain should be accepted as such and respected
  • Although pain usually serves an adaptive role, it may have adverse effects on function and social and psychological well-being
  • Verbal description is only one of several behaviours to express pain; inability to communicate does not negate the possibility that a human or a nonhuman animal experiences pain

Potential benefits of this new definition

  • Creation of a chronic pain classification: ICD-11
  • A revised definition of pain is very timely and aligns with current efforts to advance ontological frameworks within which pain resides
  • We must recognize pain as an important health condition and this will transform pain research and the care of persons with pain worldwide

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