Pain Management
Definition
Pain management covers a number of methods to prevent, reduce, or stop pain sensations. These include the use of medications; physical methods such as ice and physical therapy; and psychological methods.
Purpose
Pain serves as an alert to potential or actual damage to the body. The definition for damage is quite broad; pain can arise from injury as well as disease. Pain that acts as a warning is called productive pain. After the message is received and interpreted, further pain offers no real benefit. Pain can have a negative impact on a person's quality of life and impede recovery from illness or injury. Unrelieved pain can become a syndrome in its own right and cause a downward spiral in a person's health and...
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