A holistic approach to pain rehabilitation: the Boston Pain Unit

The traditional management of chronic pain has generally encompassed such options as bed rest, physical therapy, potent medication, surgery and nerve blocks. Experience has demonstrated the importance of the multi-disciplinary team in the approach to chronic pain, particularly when the pain problem has eluded diagnosis and/or adequate treatment via conventional techniques. In an attempt to widen the patient's choice of treatment modalities, the pain unit has emerged as a concept effective for the management of chronic pain. Frequently, chronic pain patients represent the treatment failures of the medical system. By the time of admission to a pain unit, their lives have become significantly disrupted and their pain problem complicated by depression, disability, financial stress, vocational difficulties, strains in interpersonal relationships, and a great loss of productivity.