1. Definitions and diagnosis of pain

Assessing pain perception using the Painmatcher® in patients with whiplash-associated disorders

“…In addition to hypersensitivity to pain, many chronic pain syndromes are associated with reduced endogenous inhibition of pain, which implies that an individual's processing of pain-related information changes with the onset of the syndrome (7). As time passes, the transitional phase between the acute and the chronic pain occurs during the "subacute" phase in which cognitive and affective components of the pain perception become more prominent (37). It is still unclear which factors initiate the vicious circle leading to "late whiplash syndrome" (38).…”

Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation in Musculoskeletal Disorders

“…Pain is always subjective. It is unquestionably a sensation in a part or parts of the body, but is also invariably unpleasant and therefore also an emotional experience (Taub et al, 1998). Acute pain is functional and can be considered a mainly physiological response to tissue damage, whereas chronic pain involves psychological and behavioural mechanisms in addition to physiological factors (Verhaak et al, 1998).…”

“…Prolonged pain tends to develop into a combination of physical, psychological and social disabilities (Karjalainen et al, 2003b;Soares et al, 2004;Blyth et al, 2001). Taub (1998) concluded that if pain-associated behaviours limit a patient's function, a chronic pain syndrome may develop.…”

Virtual Reality Based Passive and Active Distraction Methods for the Treatment of Chronic Pain

“…Pain is an unpleasant experience that tells us something is wrong with our body [85], where some part of our body is at risk of harm. Pain is commonly divided into two categories: acute and chronic [114]. Acute pain is caused by disease, injury, or some other form of stimulation [114], and serves as a biological alert to prevent further damage [89].…”

“…Pain is commonly divided into two categories: acute and chronic [114]. Acute pain is caused by disease, injury, or some other form of stimulation [114], and serves as a biological alert to prevent further damage [89]. Chronic pain is ongoing pain that lasts well after the initial injury has healed [102].…”