Description

Pain management After years of neglect, issues of pain assessment and management have captured the attention of other healthcare professionals and the public. Factors that prompted such attention include the high prevalence of pain, continuing evidence that pain is undertreated, and a growing awareness of the adverse consequences of inadequately managed pain. Pain is the most common reason individuals seek health care (Fox C, 2000). Among pain sufferers, 80% experience short-term disability; and 18% of these attribute pain to work-related injuries. 40% of pain sufferers experience joint pain, aching, and stiffness (Watkins E, 2008). Chronic pain is the most common cause of long-term disability. An improved understanding of pain mechanisms has advanced treatment for pain. Sufficient knowledge and resources exist to manage pain in an estimated 90% of individuals with acute or cancer pain