Pain that comes on quickly, can be severe, but lasts a relatively short time. (1)¹

A primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease whose development and manifestations are influenced by genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors. It is characterized by behavior that includes one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving. (2)

Pain due to a stimulus that does not normally provoke pain. (3)

The cumulative physiological cost to the body of chronic exposure to the stress response. (4)

Absence of pain in response to a stimulus that would normally be painful. (5)

Assumptions about reality that shape the interpretation of events and, consequently, the appraisal of pain. (6)

A framework that accounts for the biological, psychological, and social dimensions of illness and disease. The biopsychosocial model provides a basis for the understanding and treatment of disease, taking into account the patient, his/her social context, and the impact of illness on that individual from a societal perspective. The model states that ill health and disease are the result of interaction among biological, psychological, and social factors. (7)

Ongoing or recurrent pain lasting beyond the usual course of acute illness or injury or, generally, more than 3 to 6 months and adversely affecting the individual’s well-being. A simpler definition for chronic or persistent pain is pain that continues when it should not. (8)

An empirically supported treatment focusing on patterns of thinking that are maladaptive and the beliefs that underlie such thinking. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is based on the idea that our thoughts, not external factors, such as people, situations, and events, cause our feelings and behavior. As a result, we can change the way we think to improve the way we feel, even if the situation does not change. (9)

Increased pain from a stimulus that normally provokes pain. (10)

Refers to efforts in which professionals from several disciplines combine their professional expertise and understanding to solve a problem.

Proposes that pain is a multidimensional experience produced by characteristic “neurosignature” patterns of nerve impulses generated by a widely distributed neural network—the “body-self neuromatrix”—in the brain. These neurosignature patterns may be triggered by sensory inputs, but they may also be generated independently of them. (11)

Pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system. (12)

The neural processes of encoding and processing noxious stimuli. (13)

Any compound that binds to an opioid receptor. Includes the opioid drugs (agonist analgesics and antagonists) and the endogenous opioid peptides. (14)

An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. (15)

An individual’s tendency to focus on and exaggerate the threat value of painful stimuli and negatively evaluate his/her ability to deal with pain. (16)

Pain subjectively localized in one region although due to irritation in another. (17)

Beliefs that individuals hold about their capability to carry out actions in a way that will influence the events that affect their lives. (18)

An increased response of neurons to a variety of inputs following intense or noxious stimuli. (19)