Non-biomedical Perspectives on Pain and its Prevention and Management

Overreliance on the biomedical paradigm has contributed, in part, to overuse of surgery and long-term drug medication with harmful physical, psychological, social, and economic consequences. Research is dominated by a tissue-centric biomedical view of pain at the expense of a holistic first-person experience of living with pain in communities of people habiting modern-world settings. Pain practice seems overly consumed with the burden of pain at an individual level (patient-centred pain management) and has neglected exploration of societal level (community-centred) or environmental level (ecologically-centred) solutions. This Research Topic acknowledges that the biomedical paradigm does not provide a complete understanding of pain by focussing attention upstream towards the role of the environment in fashioning the experience and impact of pain on health. Research methodologies from non-biomedical disciplines can explore social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental conditions that influence the living experience of pain in the modern era. Investigating the phenomenon of pain using socio-ecological frameworks provide opportunities to shift perspectives and open-up new avenues for exploration, including innovative strategies to reduce the burden of pain on society. The purpose of this Research Topic is to broaden and deepen the conceptual understanding of pain in the modern era by showcasing contributions from non-biomedical disciplines. This includes exploration of the concept of painogenic lifestyles and environments, and non-medical strategies[…]” Excerpt From Non-biomedical perspectives on pain and its prevention and management Mark I. Johnson, James Woodall, Emmanouil Georgiadis and Antonio Bonacaro This material may be protected by copyright.