Which individuals with acute pain are most likely to develop a chronic pain syndrome?

Recent prospective studies of risk factors for the development of chronic pain in individuals with acute pain are reviewed. Particular attention is paid to the finding that severe acute pain is a risk factor for three chronic pain syndromes: phantom pain, postherpetic neuralgia, and chronic back pain. Biomedical and psychosocial risk factors for these chronic pain syndromes have also been identified, and a model is proposed of the relationships between these risk factors and acute pain severity. The implications of these risk factors for designing interventions to prevent the development of chronic pain are discussed, and directions for future research are identified.