The new @IASPpain definition of pain is:

“An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage.”

Six Notes were created to accompany the new definition…

(thread)

Note 1. "Pain is always a personal experience that is influenced to varying degrees by biological, psychological, and social factors."

Interpretation: Engel’s biopsychosocial model gains a formal place in @IASPpain taxonomy for the first time.

Note the direction of cause and effect here.

Note 2. "Pain and nociception are different phenomena. Pain cannot be inferred solely from activity in sensory neurons."

Interpretation: Pain and nociception are distinct and that nociception is neither necessary or sufficient for pain.

Worth noting that @IASPpain only added a formal definition of nociception in 2008

Note 3. "Through their life experiences, individuals learn the concept of pain."

Interpretation: We are not born with an intrinsic concept of pain

Note 4. "A person’s report of an experience as pain should be respected."

Interpretation: As McCaffery said in 1968, "Pain is what the patient says it is, and occurs when he or she says it does.”

This Note also underlies the importance of #PatientReportedOutcomes

Note 5. "Although pain usually serves an adaptive role, it may have adverse effects on function and social and psychological well-being."

Interpretation: Pain isn’t always useful!

Note the direction of cause and effect here (i.e. opposite of Note 1).

Note 6. "Verbal description is only one of several behaviors to express pain; inability to communicate does not negate the possibility that a human or a nonhuman animal experiences pain."

Interpretation: Although what a patient tells you (and #PatientReportedOutcomes) are of the utmost importance, non-verbal pain behaviours (and outcomes) are also important

Etymology of the word 'pain'
Middle English, from Anglo-French peine (pain, suffering), from Latin poena (penalty, punishment), in turn from Greek poin"e (payment, penalty, recompense).

This matrix summarises how the @IASPpain task force formulated the revision:

How they arrived there: Public Consultation on the task force’s initial recommendation

http://links.lww.com/PAIN/B53 

Summary of feedback on intial recommendation from consultation: