Recently introduced definition of “nociplastic pain” by the International Association for the Study of Pain needs better formulation

Wewelcome the recent addition of a thirdmechanistic descriptor, “nociplastic pain,” to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Taxonomy, meant to cover cases not properly covered by “nociceptive pain” or “neuropathic pain.” This note does not, therefore, question the basic rationale for introducing this new term. Thus, we accept the implication that there are at least 3 distinct mechanisms/processes (let us call them nociceptive, neuropathic, and nociplastic) through which pain can arise, and that it is important to be clear about the differences among these mechanisms for proper diagnosis although “common mechanism(s) may be relevant” in certain cases. Rather, we would like to point out the inadequacy of the formulation of the definition, which runs as follows (numbers in parentheses added by us for ease of reference):