Pain needs a multidisciplinary, mechanism based approach

Recent developments support the idea of an individualised, holistic, and mechanism based approach to pain management. Holdcroft and Power (p 635) searched medical websites, systematic reviews, and leading scientific papers on the topic of pain management. Successful pain control should be multidisciplinary since it involves all the mechanisms that initiate and maintain pain. The authors report on a new classification that divides the type of neuropathic pain into spontaneous pain and stimulus evoked pain, requiring different research paths. In terms of drug development, the need to mitigate the side effects of opioids has encouraged various approaches, including alternative opioids and combination therapies.

(Credit: CHARLES ESHELMAN/PHOTONICA)

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Relevant Article

Recent developments: Management of pain

Anita Holdcroft and Ian Power
BMJ 2003 326: 635-639. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]