BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Abdomen is the most frequent site for acute or chronic painful syndromes, for referred pain from distant structures or for pain caused by systemic injuries. Abdominal visceral pain is induced by hollow viscera or parenchymal viscera walls stretching or by peritoneal stretching. Complex diagnosis and treatment have motivated this study. Patients with chronic abdominal pain are usually undertreated and underdiagnosed. The interdisciplinary treatment aims at minimizing patients' distress, relieving pain and improving their quality of life. CONTENTS: Since visceral diseases may determine pain of different types and, usually, challenge physicians with regard to their diagnosis and treatment, the authors have described in a practical way painful characteristics and associations with more common diseases. CONCLUSION: The interdisciplinary treatment, with the association of pharmacological measures to physical medicine and rehabilitation procedure and to psychological follow up, decreases distress and inabilities and improves quality of life.
Abdominal pain; Interdisciplinary treatment; Myofascial pain; Visceral pain