Kirkik D, Aydin Sarikaya V. Revisiting chronic musculoskeletal pain as a biopsychosocial disorder. World J Clin Cases 2026; 14(24): 122856 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.122856]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Duygu Kirkik, Associate Professor, Department of Immunology, Hamidiye Medicine Faculty, University of Health Sciences, Mekteb-i Tıbbiyye-i Sahane (Haydarpasa) Kulliyesi Selimiye Mah Tıbbiye Cad No. 38, Istanbul 34668, Türkiye. dygkirkik@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Aug 26, 2026; 14(24): 122856 Published online Aug 26, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.122856
Revisiting chronic musculoskeletal pain as a biopsychosocial disorder
Duygu Kirkik, Vahibe Aydin Sarikaya
Duygu Kirkik, Department of Immunology, Hamidiye Medicine Faculty, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul 34668, Türkiye
Vahibe Aydin Sarikaya, Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Haydarpaşa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul 34668, Türkiye
Author contributions: Kirkik D designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript; Kirkik D and Aydin Sarikaya V contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript; and all authors contributed to the writing, editing the manuscript, review of literature, and approved the final version to publish.
AI contribution statement: Generative AI was used to assist with language editing and organization during revision. All scientific interpretations, arguments, citations, and conclusions were critically reviewed and approved by the authors, who take full responsibility for the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Duygu Kirkik, Associate Professor, Department of Immunology, Hamidiye Medicine Faculty, University of Health Sciences, Mekteb-i Tıbbiyye-i Sahane (Haydarpasa) Kulliyesi Selimiye Mah Tıbbiye Cad No. 38, Istanbul 34668, Türkiye. dygkirkik@gmail.com
Received: April 30, 2026 Revised: July 15, 2026 Accepted: August 5, 2026 Published online: August 26, 2026 Processing time: 111 Days and 18.7 Hours
Abstract
Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is one of the world's health problems affecting millions of people. As musculoskeletal pain is chronic, it changes from nociceptive pain to mixed pain mediated by peripheral and central sensitization. CMP is a biopsychosocial disorder in which psychological factors, including anxiety and depression, significantly affect the pain experience and disability. In addition to these factors, pain coping strategies and social determinants of health also play important roles in the experience of chronic pain. In the recent issue of World Journal of Clinical Cases, conducted by Hamed et al, investigated psychiatric disorders, coping strategies, and quality of life in patients with CMP to better understand the clinical and psychosocial aspects of CMP. This editorial letter aims to critically appraise the multidimensional nature of CMP in light of the findings by Hamed et al, with a particular focus on clinical heterogeneity, psychiatric comorbidities, psychosocial stressors, and key determinants of impaired quality of life.
Core Tip: A complicated biopsychosocial illness, chronic musculoskeletal pain is influenced by social determinants of health, coping mechanisms, psychiatric comorbidities, and central sensitization. In order to improve quality of life, evidence from Hamed et al emphasizes the necessity of integrated, interdisciplinary approaches that treat both psychological and physical aspects.
