Pain, work, and the workplace: a topical review

Since inception, pain research has conceptualised pain as an “intraorganismic” phenomenon, where the mechanisms responsible for pain experience and impact all reside within the body. There is increased recognition that this conceptualization lacks both explanatory and predictive power. Increasingly, research points to important contextual factors that influence the experience and impact of pain. One such factor is “work.” The relations between work and pain are multiple and complex, where pain influences work, work influences pain, and features of working environments (eg, satisfaction, workload, and control) moderate the prevalence, severity, and consequences of pain.