Dolor crónico y dolor persistente: diferencias conceptuales y clínicas en la terminología del dolor

Since 2009, there has been a growing trend in English-language scientific literature toward replacing the term chronic pain with persistent pain. This semantic shift is a clear statement of reversibility and indicates the possibility of pain change. In 2022, the Tradop working group (Grup d'Abordatge Transdisciplinar del Dolor Persistent) was created within the CAMFIC Scientific Society (Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine). Various associations of patients and family members affected by chronic pain felt challenged to learn that our group used persistent pain instead of chronic pain in courses, conferences, and publications. Given their discomfort, we initiated a collective reflection and an etymological, historical, and scientific investigation of the terms «chronic» and «persistent». This search led to the conclusion that the two terms are not equivalent and that the translation from English to Spanish has a different contextualization and applicability.