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Chronic pain is a burdensome and prevalent symptom in individuals with rheumatic disease.

The International Association for the Study of Pain classifies pain into three descriptive categories: nociceptive, neuropathic, and nociplastic. These categories are intended to provide information about the mechanisms underlying the pain, which can then serve as targets for drug or non-drug treatments.

This review describes the three types of pain as they relate to patients seen by rheumatology healthcare providers. The focus is on identifying individuals with nociplastic pain, which can either occur in isolation as in fibromyalgia, or as a comorbidity in individuals with primary autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Practical information about how rheumatology healthcare providers can approach and manage chronic pain is also provided.

Read a Q&A of study highlights here and commentary on the clinical implications here.