A special task force of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) recently released its proposal for a revised definition of pain. This is good news to me, as I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the current version:
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.”(1)
There are also accompanying notes for the IASP definition of pain, so there is a lot more meat on the bones of this skeleton! These notes have also been significantly updated, and largely rephrased.
You can read the definition and notes – both the current and proposed versions – on the IASP website. Here’s a direct link to that page:
https://www.iasp-pain.org/PublicationsNews/NewsDetail.aspx?ItemNumber=9218
The task force’s proposed definition of pain is:
An aversive sensory and emotional experience typically caused by, or resembling that caused by, actual or potential tissue injury.”(1)
I encourage you to visit the website, and to read the notes that would accompany the proposed definition. Why?
Because if you disagree – or even if you agree! – with these proposals, you can comment on them. You can send your comments to the IASP, using an online service. The “form is open to any member of the pain community and not restricted to IASP members”.(2)
Don’t put it off for too long, though, because the deadline for comments is September 11, 2019 (at midnight Eastern time, here in North America).
Comments have to be in writing, using the online SurveyMonkey service: “This form will only take a few minutes, and your responses are anonymous.”(2)
If you have a few minutes now, why not go read it right away? It will only take a few minutes, and that should be enough for you to decide whether you’d like to have a hand in the final version of this definition. If you suffer from chronic pain, it’s about YOU!
As always, thanks for reading! I wish you a day filled with moments of beauty and joy… of noticing the colour of a flower, the song of a bird, or whatever it is that you find beautiful in the world ‘-)
References:
(1) Srinivasa Raja (Chair) et al; IASP Definition of Pain Task Force. IASP’s Proposed New Definition of Pain Released for Comment. International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). 07 Aug 7 2019. Online. Accessed 08 Aug 2019. Web:
https://www.iasp-pain.org/PublicationsNews/NewsDetail.aspx?ItemNumber=9218
(2) Srinivasa Raja (Chair) et al; IASP Definition of Pain Task Force. Request for Public Comments on the New Proposed Definition of Pain. International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP); via SurveyMonkey. 07 Aug 7 2019. Online. Accessed 08 Aug 2019. Web:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/definitionofpain