Full text of DOI:10.1207/S15327558IJBM0704_01

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE, 7(4), 289–290
Copyright © 2000, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
EDITORIAL
Special Issue: Behavioral Factors in Pain
and Musculoskeletal Disorders
Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common causes of severe long-term pain
and physical disabilities, affecting hundreds of millions of people across the world.
Joint diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis) account for half of all
chronic conditions in persons ages 65 and over. Back pain and other soft tissue inju-
ries are a major cause of sick leave. Injuries caused by traffic accidents and war, os-
teoporosis and its related fractures, and crippling diseases and deformities in child-
hood are important examples of other musculoskeletal disorders causing individual
suffering and societal losses. The Bone and Joint Decade 2000–2010, which has
been declared recently (Consensus Document, 1998), addresses these issues. The
goals of the Bone and Joint Decade are to raise awareness of the growing burden of
musculoskeletal disorders on society, empower patients to participate in decisions
on their care, promote cost-effective prevention and treatment, and advance the un-
derstanding of musculoskeletal disorders through research. Numerous organizations
in countries all over the world support this important initiative.
In this context, this special issue of the International Journal of Behavioral
Medicine is a timely event. Behavioral factors affect both the etiology and the
prognosis of musculoskeletal disorders. Application of behavioral interventions
contributes to the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders and to the reduction of
pain, disability, and sick leave in patients with established musculoskeletal disor-
ders. This special issue aims at furthering our understanding of the interactions be-
tween behavioral factors and musculoskeletal disorders. Its intent is also to
stimulate contributions from this growing field of research to this journal.
Contributions to this special issue focus on the role of cognitive, emotional, and
behavioral factors in the etiology and prognosis of musculoskeletal disorders. The
research reported in this issue addresses the role of several behavioral factors, in-
cluding (a) various manifestations of emotional and physical distress; (b) coping,
in particular catastrophizing; (c) physical activity and function; and (d) workload
and demanding occupational and nonoccupational conditions. The influence of
these factors on pain, physical disability, and psychophysiological parameters is

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EDITORIAL
assessed. Collectively, the six studies reported in this issue demonstrate the impor-
tance of behavioral factors in musculoskeletal disorders.
Back pain and other nonspecific musculoskeletal disorders are the major topic
of this special issue. Indeed, these disorders are highly prevalent, and they are a
major cause of pain, disability, and sick leave. Behavioral factors are of impor-
tance in other conditions as well; this applies to rheumatoid arthritis (also ad-
dressed in this issue), osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, injuries, musculoskeletal
conditions in childhood, and many other disorders. Furthermore, whereas under-
standing the role of behavioral factors is of critical importance, effective preven-
tion and treatment is the ultimate goal of research on musculoskeletal disorders.
Behavioral techniques are important in the prevention and treatment of
musculoskeletal disorders. The outcome of these interventions should be carefully
assessed. Research on both behavioral factors and behavioral interventions in
musculoskeletal disorders is welcomed in future issues of this journal.
Joost Dekker
Ulf Lundberg
AmandaC. deC. Williams
Editors
REFERENCE
Consensus Document. (1998). The Bone and Joint Decade 2000–2010. Acta Orthopaedica
Scandinavica, 69(Suppl. 281), 67–86.