[Multidisciplinary treatment of chronic pain--opportunities and challenges for collaboration between psychosomatic medicine and physiotherapy].

Chronic pain is often associated with inefficient treatments attempts and a significant impairment of quality of life. The treatment of patients with chronic pain has been a major challenge for all disciplines concerned; none has convincingly shown that their approach achieves the goal of a pain free life. Multimodal pain management programs are characterised by a joint effort of somatic medicine, physiotherapy, and psychology or psychotherapy to cooperate in a shared model of diagnosis and treatment for chronic pain patients.