Comprehensive programs for chronic pain management provided at multidisciplinary clinics have been shown to be successful in Western countries. However, similar results have not yet been reported in Japan, and it is unclear whether these results are applicable to the Japanese culture. Accordingly, the authors report the results of the ‘Chronic Pain Class’, a program initiated at a multidisciplinary pain centre in Nagakute, Japan.

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The aim of this study was to investigate the features of overweight or obese individuals with a BMI >25 kg/m 2 who complained of low back pain, knee pain, and neck stiffness. The subjects comprised 88 overweight or obese individuals who were divided into a symptomatic group and an asymptomatic group prior to the weight-loss intervention in order to compare several parameters of each group. Symptomatic patients were divided into groups of subjects whose symptoms did or did not improve as a result of the 6-month weight-loss intervention. Changes in the test paramete rs from before and after the intervention were compared between the two groups. The results revealed no differences in any parameters between the two groups (symptomatic and asymptomatic) at baseline in neck stiffness or low back pain. However, for knee pain, the maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 max) was significantly lower in the symptomatic group than in the asymptomatic group (p<0.01). Furthermore, the weight-loss intervention revealed a significant increase in VO 2 max in the "improved" group compared to the "no change" group (p<0.05). The study results showed that both weight loss and the acquisition of aerobic capacity were important in relieving knee pain in overweight or obese individuals.