The Ising Model Applied on Chronification of Pain

Abstract

This is a hypothesis-article suggesting an entirely new framework for understanding and treating longstanding pain. Most medical and psychological models are described with boxes and arrows. Such models are of little clinical and explanatory use when describing the phenomenon of chronification of pain due to unknown causes. To date no models that have been provided - and tested in a scientific satisfactory way - lays out a plan for specific assessment due to a specific causal explanation, and in the end serves the clinicians, patients and researcher with tools on how to address the specific pain condition to every individual pain patient's condition. By applying the Ising model (from physics) on the phenomenon of chronification of pain, one is able to detangle all these factors, and thus have a model that both suggests an explanation of the condition and outlines how one might target the treatment of chronic pain patients with the use of network science.