Multidisciplinary treatment of chronic pain in pain centers: History and perspectives

Abstract

Chronic pain is a significant social issue, causing suffering, reducing quality of life, hindering employment, and increasing societal medical costs. The multidisciplinary pain clinic, initiated by John Bonica at the University of Washington in 1960 and incorporating the biopsychosocial model in the 1980s, has become a cornerstone of chronic pain management. This approach has spread to Western countries, fostering the establishment of multidisciplinary pain centers as part of chronic pain policies. In Japan, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has promoted these centers since 2009. These centers offer comprehensive care through multi-professional collaboration based on the biopsychosocial model. This paper provides a narrative review of multidisciplinary treatment for chronic pain, the biopsychosocial model, and the functions of pain centers in regional healthcare, focusing on their historical development and significance. Over the past half-century, literature indicates that the multidisciplinary approach in pain centers will continue to play a pivotal role in chronic pain management and the advancement of pain medicine.