Commentary from Germany

摘要

In many cases,the diagnosis and treatment of patients with chronic pain will only be successful if both the predominant pain mechanism and psychosocial factors are considered. Many patients with chronic pain after spinal surgery experience mixed pain, where no-ciceptive and neuropathic mechanisms exist side-by-side. To differentiate between types of pain, we use the painDETECT questionnaire at our clinic, which is available in many languages. In this case, the patient was diagnosed with musculoskeletal pain with comor-bid factors, similar to many of our chronic pain patients. More complex pain questionnaires such as the Deutscher Schmerz-Fragebogen can also be very useful for the physician, alongside a detailed history and examination.