[Chronic pain. Epidemiology and management in Germany]

At least 5 million patients with chronic and severely debilitating pain exist among the adult population in Germany, i.e. 8% of this population. Various biological and psychosocial risk factors contribute to the continuing chronicity of pain, resulting in enormous direct and indirect costs totalling an estimated 38 billion euro annually. The introduction of a medical specialty for pain treatment in 1998 has not appreciably affected the quality of outpatient pain management. In contrast, more recent approaches of multimodal treatment, including medical, psychological and behavioral components, have shown a significant and lasting effect in patients with a high incidence of workplace incapacitation and sick leave. In particular, the GRIP pilot project (Göttingen Intensive Back Project) has resulted in an increased rate (to 200%) of return to the workplace and in a decrease in health system expenses to 50% of the pretreatment level.