Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome: New Terminology for a New Era

摘要

Pain medicine and treatment of chronic pain have evolved, with many new treatment options developed just in the past decade. Leaders in pain medicine recognize that terminology needs to keep up with our understanding of disorders, their pathophysiologies, and their treatment. In the 1990s, the term “complex regional pain syndrome” (CRPS) emerged from the work of an expert group convened by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). The goal was an improved term for the conditions previously labeled “reflex sympathetic dystrophy” and “causalgia” that was more general and not specific to a certain pathophysiology. This effort also delineated the subtypes of complex regional pain syndrome. Despite the expert recommendation, there were objections from several fronts to the terminology, and adoption of the term was slow.1 An analysis of publications from 2001 to 2012 identified that 79% used the new terminology, with a gradual increase over the time period.2