Bio Psychosocial Model Of Pain: A Case Study

As people develop a greater understanding of pain, it is important to form new models for pain. Since the beginning of time, pain was first seen as a punishment from the Gods. The ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates, hypothesized one of the earliest theories of personality when he stated that four bodily fluids or “humors” were responsible for specific personality types and various physical or mental illnesses (Meldrum, 2003). Melzack and Wall (1965) introduced the Gate Control Theory, which had the greatest influence on the subsequent acceptance of the fact that there was a close interaction between psychological and physiological processes and pain. This theory assumed that there were a number of structures within the central nervous system that significantly …show more content…
Yet a new theory was needed to explain the complexity of interactions involved in the pain process. This need allowed for the development of the bio psychosocial model of pain. The bio psychosocial model recognizes the variety of ways that pain affects patient’s lives. Today, this model conceptualizes pain by examining the interplay between the biological, physiological, cognitive, behavioral, and social aspects of pain Freeman LW, et al., 2016). Instead of focusing solely on an underlying somatic cause, the individual’s unique situations must be addressed as well. Because chronic symptoms extend over time, they must be viewed as a longitudinal, ongoing process. During the acute phase of an illness, the biological factors may take precedence, but over time, as the symptoms become chronic, the psychological and social factors begin to play important roles in the response to treatment, and interaction with significant others. Therefore, it is crucial that all models of pain treatment utilize this heuristic approach (Turk & Monarch,