CHRONIC PAIN

Chronic pain is an emotional experience and is defined as pain lasting greater than six months. It is important to understand the neurophysiology of pain in order to treat it. Nociceptors in the periphery travel to the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord while secondary and tertiary afferents t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of medicine 1998-01, Vol.49 (1), p.123-133
Main Authors: Russo, MD, Cathy M, Brose, MD, William G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Medical Centers
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic Disease
Chronic pain
definitions of pain
Emotions
General aspects
hospice
Hospice Care
Humans
Localization
Medical sciences
multidisciplinary treatment
Neoplasms - physiopathology
Neural Pathways - physiology
Neurons
Neurons, Afferent - physiology
Neurophysiology
Nociceptors - physiology
Pain - drug therapy
Pain - physiopathology
Pain - psychology
Pain - rehabilitation
Pain Clinics
Pain Management
Pain Measurement
pain pathways
Palliative Care
Quality of Life
Spinal cord
Spinal Cord - physiology
Substantia Gelatinosa - physiology
Teaching
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Chronic pain is an emotional experience and is defined as pain lasting greater than six months. It is important to understand the neurophysiology of pain in order to treat it. Nociceptors in the periphery travel to the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord while secondary and tertiary afferents transmit information from the dorsal horn to the brain. Modification of pain information may take place in these ascending pathways or in descending pathways. Treatment of chronic pain is most successful when it is approached in a multidisciplinary fashion with the focus not only on treatment of underlying etiology, but also on the secondary impacts of pain on the patient's life. The management of chronic pain requires special expertise. Most of the experts in chronic pain assessment and management organize themselves into pain treatment centers. These centers vary widely in their approach to the problem. The most sophisticated is a multidisciplinary center that is university-based and includes teaching and research. Treatment of chronic pain includes a variety of medications, psychological support, and rehabilitation. Multidisciplinary pain management is also an integral part of the palliative care and hospice concept used to treat cancer pain.
ISSN:0066-4219
1545-326X
DOI:10.1146/annurev.med.49.1.123