Prevention of the development and maintenance of pediatric chronic pain and disability

Understanding the predisposing factors that confer a greater or lesser risk of developing chronic, or persistent, pain is an essential step in chronic pain prevention and management. This chapter focuses on current theoretical models that can inform prevention of pediatric pain and disability. We review the literature on known risk/protective factors, markers, correlates, and prognostic factors for the transition to chronic pain and disability across a variety of pain conditions. We distinguish between primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of pain prevention and discuss the clinical implications of this distinction.