Pain is often considered biological in nature - an unpleasant experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage that sends signals to your brain. These signals tell you you’re in danger and your body responds by protecting it through pain.
This normally subsides once the tissue injury heals, but in other cases, the pain may continue to persist. This may be due to individuals developing certain thoughts, emotions and behaviours towards that pain such as psychological distress, fear or avoidance beliefs with movement. This shows not all pain stems from structures, posture or biomechanical (movement).
To explain the word "biopsychosocial", we can break it down into 3 components:
Bio: Biological in nature, it is the traditional way of looking at pain with structures, posture and biomechanics. It is important because majority of people have pain driven by their tissues. This component looks at the mechanisms of injury and how certain posture or movements can trigger pain. This is known as the "acute phase" where one feels the most pain or discomfort after an injury. Injuries in this phase usually heal within a few weeks to 2-3 months.
Psycho: This component is an essential variable to consider when addressing chronic pain conditions, which persist past the normal healing time frame (within 3 months). Individual’s beliefs, thoughts and emotions are how you perceive and evaluate the world and your own body. At the end of the day, pain is subjective and different in every person. It’s a protective mechanism that helps you survive, meaning your brain can create pain based on perceived threats even if there’s no damage to your tissues. The brain produces 100% of the pain you feel - the brain is complex, thus so is your pain. However, this doesn’t mean you are making up your pain and symptoms. It is important to remember every person's pain experience is real and unique.
Social: The "social" component plays into the idea that the people and environment you interact with can also play a part in your pain and symptoms. Social interaction is important for your overall health, and a lack of healthy social interaction and relationship can predispose someone to fall into a depression, which can potentially lead to chronic pain disorders.
Breaking down these components highlights they are interconnected. Once you realise how your mind, body and environment are connected to your symptoms, you can start addressing all the potential factors contributing to your pain and kick-start your journey to healing.
Chiropractic care can help address all these issues through a holistic approach. We strive to understand you - our patients - through a biopsychosocial lens. It's part of our mission to cultivate healthy psychosocial behaviours and lifestyles with our patients through effective communication and treatments.
These treatments can include joint mobilisations, soft tissue work, adjustments and rehabilitation exercises focusing on improving and optimising a patient's musculoskeletal system in reducing symptoms and improving body function. Our treatments are all tailored to each patient's needs and modifying them to align with biopsychosocial principles to reach the best-expected outcomes.
Dr Alan Hong (Chiropractor of Welcome Health)
Disclaimer: This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment in any manner and is intended for general educational purposes only. Consult your qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding any medical condition.
References:
Walters, T. and Cordoza, G. (2023) ‘What is Pain?’, in Rehab science: How to overcome pain and heal from injury. Las Vegas, NV: Victory Belt Publishing.
Meints, S.M. and Edwards, R.R. (2018) Evaluating psychosocial contributions to chronic pain outcomes, Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6067990/ (Accessed: 15th October 2023).
Rosignoli, C. et al. (2022) Applying a biopsychosocial model to migraine: Rationale and clinical implications - The Journal of Headache and pain, SpringerLink. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s10194-022-01471-3 (Accessed: 19 October2023).