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Social Dislocation and the Chronic Pain Patient

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Encyclopedia of Pain

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Synonyms

Disruption; Displacement

Definition

Dislocation and loss of social roles associated with chronic pain are legion. They occur mainly in three areas, namely, work, family relations and social life.

Characteristics

The magnitude of social upheaval caused by chronic pain disorders is significant for many patients. Generally, a pain patient seen at a pain clinic has failed to respond to the ministrations of modern medicine. She/he has lived with the pain for many months or even years by the time the patient arrives at a pain clinic. The descent of a person into chronic patienthood, and the new reality of this world, constitutes the central feature of this chapter. Many patients lose most of their valued roles, and the chronic sick role tends to loom large in their lives.

The World of Work

There can be little debate about the beneficial outcome of pain management programs, even in terms of patients returning to work following treatment. On the other hand, many patients do not. This...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Work and Department of Clinical Health Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Ranjan Roy

Authors
  1. Ranjan Roy
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physiological Institute, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Robert F. Schmidt

  2. Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

    William D. Willis

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Roy, R. (2007). Social Dislocation and the Chronic Pain Patient. In: Schmidt, R., Willis, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_4042

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_4042

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43957-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29805-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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