And also, pain as a science has grown so rapidly in the last decade, which is a relatively short time, that a lot of physicians don't have the expertise to deal with the emotional components, and that's why we built our practice to meet these needs. A lot of it has to do with much of the advance in medicine in the past several decades, is aimed at dealing with more acute health problems, and that the chronic, more persistent health problems, require a different approach, one that more evenly integrates the physical with the emotional and psychological. Yes, it can be. But in a very, very, very small percentage of cases. In most instances, the psychological and emotional part serves to exacerbate and maintain the pain, so we can think of it more as a contributing factor, rather than a causal factor.
Pain becomes part of the learned response, part of the perception of pain.
So yes, it is a learned response. People respond to pain in a variety of ways. Some of us tend to cope with it, some people try to neglect it, and some find pain in itself, they can't cope with it, and we need to get very involved in that part of their therapy. It's helpful to think of pain from the psychological perspective, as being a consistent chronic stressor. And that people bring to the pain experience all of their background, learnings, and fears, expectations, beliefs and attitudes.