Why is chronic pain so difficult to treat? Psychological considerations from simple to complex care

The treatment of patients with chronic pain can be difficult and challenging. Recent advances in our understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved have led to viewing this condition as a multifactorial problem with interrelated structural, functional, and psychophysiologic factors. Treatment of simple chronic pain is fundamentally different from that of complex chronic pain. The former can be managed by one clinician alone, whereas the latter requires the integration of a multidisciplinary team of specialists with a biopsychosocial treatment philosophy.