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January 21th, 2010
Different types of pain and pain medication
According to Paul A.J. Hardy, author of the book “Chronic Pain Management: The Essentials,” pain needs to be measured, but the main issue is that “there are no external markers suitable for measurement.” Although there have been attempts to put numerical values, or pain scores, to assess pain, the common practice is still a verbal evaluation between patient and doctor regarding the absence or presence of pain. The results are solely dependent on the patient, and these are oftentimes inaccurate due to the patient’s own subjectivity and fear.
Even so, the prevalent method of determining the levels of pain and treatment is still based on the Pain Ladder devised by the World Health Organization (WHO). Using the ladder, pain is classified into three levels (or rungs): mild, moderate, and severe. Before delving further into the pain levels, it is important to differentiate these levels from the types of pain. It can be broadly categorized into acute pain and chronic pain.
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What Is Pain Management
Pain management consists of the branch of medicine which deals mainly with alleviating pain and increasing the comfort of those who suffer from pain. To accomplish these objectives, it draws information and skills from various fields of study, including but not limited to medicine and nursing, psychology, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. In a book written by Main and Spanswick (2000), it has been said that the core of pain medication in contemporary times is an understanding of the behavioral and cognitive factors, or to put it simply, being aware of the relationship between the body and the mind as it processes pain.
Medical professionals specializing in dealing with pain are anesthesiologists, neurologists, palliative care doctors, and psychiatrists. These are experts who have gone through a specific training. As for other healthcare professionals, they may be trained and certified by appropriate authorities, such as the American Board of Anesthesiology. To complete the multidisciplinary team of experts, the participation of chiropractors (those who treat the body’s mechanical or musculoskeletal disorders) and clinical psychologists are considered crucial in helping a patient recover or at least overcome pain during treatment. |
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