Limitations of Medical Treatments for Chronic Pain

Specialty training in pain medicine, particularly in western societies, is seen as a technical fi eld that requires the mastery of many interventions such as pain-relieving medications, injections, and implantable devices. The literature suggests, however, that the reason someone with chronic pain gets better has as much to do with the nonspecifi c effects of treatment—such as the personality of the patient and the interpersonal relationship that person has with the pain clinician—as with the treatment itself. This issue of Pain: Clinical Updates presents a limited review of the literature about the role of nonspecifi c effects of treatment and discusses some suggestions for future training in pain medicine.