Understanding and treatment of diffuse aches and pains of patients from tradition-bound cultures

Patients from collective cultures with a tradition-bound cultural background (e.g., people from the Middle East and some south European countries such as Italy and Greece), have a different perception of pain and different conceptions of healing, which up till now have not been sufficiently appreciated in modern multimodal therapeutic approaches. Inadequate knowledge of anatomy and bodily functions and traditional perceptions of pain (magic, curse, punishment, etc.) have a substantial influence on diagnostics. The pain experience is regarded holistically in relation to the body, rather than being confined to a particular part of the body. Limited access to psychological complains treatment often leads to diffuse pain. The ailing body expresses its state in social, collective, economic, migration historical, psychological and cultural terms. A multimodal interdisciplinary and culture-sensitive approach is required for the effective pain treatment of patients from a tradition-bound background.