Purpose of review: The recent resurgence of the notion of psychosomatic disorders, grouping together as 'medically unexplained symptoms' all those without organic diagnosis and associated with distress, has included all chronic (persistent) pain within its remit. As pain is reasonably well explained, within an integrated biopsychosocial model, critical analysis of the position is required.
Recent findings: Neuroscientific and translational studies of pain mechanisms have strengthened the understanding of pain, providing stronger connections between abstract psychological concepts corresponding to observation and studies of human clinical populations, neuroscientific findings in clinical and analogue studies, and animal research. This situation is contrasted with even the most recent reviews of medically unexplained symptoms providing only vague and patchily supported mechanisms, with little cognate human analogue or animal research.
Summary: The implication of subsuming chronic pain under medically unexplained symptoms is that the primary care/community physician will try to persuade the patient that the symptoms indicate underlying depression, which her or she may offer to treat. When pain is instead recognized as a problem in its own right, it would be referred for specialist opinion and care, or treated directly with evidence-based pain interventions.