What Is Somatoform Pain Disorder

Chronic somatoform pain disorder is a kind of somatoform disorder in which the leading complaint is the constant, heavy and mentally oppressive pain in any area of ​​the body that lasts more than 6 months and can not be fully explained by a physiological process or somatic disorder. It appears in conjunction with emotional conflict or psychosocial problems, which can be regarded as the main reason. The result is usually a distinct gain attention and support from individuals or physicians.

It is noteworthy that in some cases, persistent somatoform pain state izs accompanied by overvalued desire to overcome pathological bodily sensations at the expense of developing their own methods of treatment other than pretentiousness and brutality, and in severe cases can cause varying degrees of auto-aggression.

What causes somatoform pain disorder

Among the causes of chronic somatoform pain disorder often emit the psychodynamic, the pain manifests itself as a way to get love, avoid penalties and make amends, way of manipulating close. What matters is why the secondary benefit of this symptom. Presentation of pain may also be a way of keeping close to an object of love or a kind of fixed reflex after a long period of physical or neurological pain. In the etiology of pain are important central mechanisms related to the level of endorphins.

Pathogenesis (what’s going on?)

Beginning is usually sudden with the increase in intensity for weeks-months. A characteristic feature of this pain is its strength, permanence, the inability to arrest the usual analgesics.

 Identify the Symptoms

Constant, severe mental and oppressive pain, which can not be completely explained by physiological processes and which appears in conjunction with emotional conflict or psychosocial problems, is regarded as the main reason. This is a headache, back pain, chest, neck. The pain often does not correspond to zones of innervation, but sometimes resembles pain symptoms in well-known diseases such as neuritis of the femoral nerve. The result is a clear manifestation of pain, gain support from relatives or physicians.

Diagnosis

Common signs of this disorder are:

• persistent and severe excruciating pain in different parts of the body length of at least 6 months;
• confirmed by the absence due to special surveys of somatic pathology, which could cause the appearance of pain;
• severity of complaints of pain and the associated reduction in adaptation is significantly higher than in cases of concomitant somatic pathology expected impact of somatic symptoms.

Additional common features are:

• no symptoms of endogenous disease (schizophrenia, MDP) and the organic CNS lesions;
• comparable to the observed somatic pathology in pain.
• The pain often occurs in conjunction with emotional conflict or psychosocial problems, is regarded as the main reason. Usually there are headaches, back pain, chest pain, neck pain.

Differential diagnosis

Psychogenic pain is difficult to distinguish from the organic due to the fact that the psychogenic mechanisms can support the organic pain. However, they, unlike organic pain, are more variable, and little susceptible to analgesics, although sensitive to antidepressants.

Most difficult is to differentiate somatoform disorder of some systemic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, etc., beginning with nonspecific, transient symptoms. Here, the doctor must extract from a set of clinical symptoms, those which are characteristic of these diseases. For example, multiple sclerosis often begins with a transient motor, sensory (paresthesia), and visual disturbances. Hyperparathyroidism can occur osteoporosis (loosening and tooth loss) and systemic lupus erythematosus often begins with fever, which gradually joins polyserositis.

Most often they have to differentiate this disorder from hysterical processing organic pain. Patients with pain of organic origin, who have no definite somatic diagnosis, can easily become frightened or hurt, which in turn leads to the formation of behavior-based search of attention. Aches and pains are quite frequent in somatisation disorder, but they are not distinguished by its strength and constancy among other complaints.

How to Treat Somatoform Pain Disorder

Programs of controling the pain (cognitive, behavioral, group meditation and model), antidepressants, carbamazepine, hypnosis.