Pain Management: Recent International Research

Before neurons and their role in pain were understood, there have been  many explanations to account for pain. Hippocrates (370-460 BCE)  believed that it was due to an imbalance in vital fluids and in the 11th  century Avicenna (980-1037) theorized that there were a number of  feeling senses including touch, pain and titillation. Today we talk  about four types of pain: 1) Nociceptive pain: Typically the result of  tissue injury, 2) Inflammatory pain: An abnormal inflammation caused by  an inappropriate response by the body's immune system, 3) Neuropathic  pain: Pain caused by nerve irritation and 4) Functional pain: Pain  without obvious origin. About 20% of adults have chronic pain and 7% of  adults have chronic pain that frequently limits life or work activities,  which increases with age. In this book we have gathered recent  international research on pain and pain management from internationally  renowned researchers from around the world, which we hope will be of  interest to the reader.