Pain : causes and management / Jan Hawthorn & Kathy Redmond.

Originally published: 1998.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 224-244) and index.

1. Introduction:- The role of pain--Perception and expression of pain--Incidence of pain--Undertreatment or inappropriate treatment of pain--The nurse\'s contribution to pain management--2. The Physiology of Pain:- Physiological pain and pathological pain--Modulation of nociceptive information - endogenous pain suppresion--Processing of information in the dorsal horn and the concept of \'gating\' in pain pathways--Transmitters in nociceptive pathways--Descending pathways and endogenous opiates-- Opiates and gene expression--3. The Causes of Clinical Pain:- Part 1: Specific types of pain--Neuropathic pain--Somatic, cutaneous and visceral pain--Acute and chronic pain--Chronic pain syndrome--Referred pain--Radicular pain--Breakthrough or incident pain--Intractable pain--Idiopathic pain--Part 2: Common clinical conditions associated with severe or prolonged pain--Cancer pain--Chronic cancer pain--Postoperative pain--Herpetic and postherpetic neuralgia--Anginal pain--Trigeminal neuralgia--Arthritis--Migraine--Labour pain--Burn pain--Back pain--Chronic pelvic pain--Treatment - related pain--Miscellaneous pain problems in bedridden patients--4. The Pain Experience:- Introduction--The nature of the pain experience--Pain threshold and tolerance--Factors which influence the perception of pain--5. Barriers to effective Pain Management:- Factors related to healthcare professionals--Factors related to patients and their families--Factors within the healthcare system--Concluding remarks--6. The Nursing Management of Patients with Pain:- Pain assessment--Pain measurement--Preventing errors during assessment--Nursing interventions for the patient in pain--Pharmacological interventions--Management of the side effects of analgesic agents--Non-pharmacological interventions--Monitoring the patient--Considerations in children--Considerations in elderly patients-- 7. Treatment of Pain: Pharmacological and Surgical Techniques:- Systemic analgesic drugs--The WHO analgesic ladder--Non-opioid analgesics--Opioid analgesics--Adjuvant analgesics--Topical anaesthetics--Drugs for specific pain conditions--Route of administration of analgesics--Surgical techniques for pain control--Radiotherapy for pain control--Stimulation of descending pathways--8. Treatment of Pain: Complementary and non-invasive Techniques:- Cognitive-behavioural strategies--Cutaneous stimulation--Therapeutic touch--Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)--Acupuncture and acupressure.

This text is a guide to the management and understanding of pain and provides clear and accessible information on identification and classification of pain, responses and systems for treatment and their impact upon the patient.