Der Schmerz
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Despite all of the progress that has been made in diagnostic procedures and the increasing number of treatment facilities available the number of people suffering from chronic pain conditions seems to be growing constantly in all industrialized countries, a fact which is demonstrated impressively by the epidemiology of low back pain. "Chronic" means "life-determining"-chronic pain, as all chronic illnesses represent a turning point in the life situation of the people concerned. They not only affect the patients, but also the members of their immediate social environment. Chronic pain becomes a destructive stigma when society reduces the afflicted persons to the status of the chronically ill. ⋯ The introduction of the concept of the "healthy pain patient" has the goal of raising the competence of the individual and his/her social environment to improve the quality of life in spite of chronic pain. The educational aim is to enable patients with pain to be autonomous and to maximize their potential health. The therapeutic approach is demonstrated by individual case histories.