Pain Disorder

The essential feature of Pain Disorder is pain that is the predominant focus of the clinical presentation and the pain causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning .

The diagnostic criteria for Pain Disorder is as follows:

• Pain in one or more anatomical sites is the predominant focus of the clinical presentation and is of sufficient severity to warrant clinical attention.

• The pain causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

• Psychological factors are judged to have an important role in the onset, severity, exacerbation, or maintenance of the pain.

• The symptom or deficit is not intentionally produced or feigned (as in Factitious Disorder or Malingering).

• The pain is not better accounted for by a Mood, Anxiety, or Psychotic Disorder and does not meet criteria for Dyspareunia.

Course

Most acute pain resolves in relatively short periods of time. There is a wide range of variability in the onset of chronic pain, although it appears that the longer acute pain is present, the more likely it is to become chronic and persistent.

Important factors that appear to influence recovery from Pain Disorder are the individual's acknowledgment of pain; giving up unproductive efforts to control pain; participation in regularly scheduled activities (e.g., work) despite the pain; degree of pain reduction; recognition and treatment of comorbid mental disorders; psychological adaptation to chronic illness; and not allowing the pain to become the determining factor in his or her lifestyle.

Diagnostic criteria summarized from:

American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

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