Chronic pain is a condition that does not fit clearly into either the biomedical or social models found in disability studies. Sufferers of chronic pain are caught between the competing models of disability. On the one side, they face being discriminated against or discounted by doctors who may treat them as if their pain is not severe enough to warrant medical treatment or else as though their entire experience with pain is contrived. On the other side, the focus on pain and the unfulfilled need for pain relief can cause sufferers of chronic pain to view their conditions primarily from a medical model perspective. This can alienate them from those in the social-model.


Chronic Pain and the Models of Disability

In the United States, appx 20% of adults experience chronic pain.

Claremont Graduate University

Chronic pain is often a symptom of chronic conditions/ disabilities, though not always. In the medical sphere, "chronic pain" is defined as pain that may be constant in some sense of come and go. Or, in the case of conditions that may have a cure or may "heal", chronic pain is defined as pain that lasts longer than three to six months.

Chronic Pain

Green, S. E., & Loseke, D. R. (Eds.). (2020). New narratives of disability : constructions, clashes, and controversies (First, Ser. Research in social science and disability, volume 11). Emerald Publishing. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from INSERT-MISSING-URL.

New Narratives of Disability: Constructions, Clashes, and Controversies

Chronic Pain Prevalence in the USA

CNCP is a specific medical categorization of chronic pain that does not include the type of body-wide pain caused by cancer. Common types of CNCP include chronic migraines, chronic back pain, chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia, and more. In some cases, CNCP can be linked to a very specific cause or probable cause but in other cases a cause cannot be clearly identified. 

CNCP (Chronic Non-Cancer Pain)

Chronic pain lacks clear biomedical causes, lasting 3+ months. Treatment uses biopsychosocial approaches targeting functioning despite pain. Patients seek biomedical explanations while practitioners target psychosocial factors. This mismatch creates interactional tension.

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