Pain Management in Rehabilitation

Book excerpt: Pain is a common symptom of many diseases and is often referred for a physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation. Despite the availability of information on the pathophysiology, assessment, and management of acute musculoskeletal pain, chronic pain still remains an unsolved problem for many patients. Pathophysiology in these patients often remains obscure, assessment difficult, and management frustrating. These issues become magnified when pain, acute or chronic, complicates a primary disabling disease such as spinal cord injury, cerebrovascular accident or multiple sclerosis. To date, the physiatric management of these complex syndromes has not been dealt with in a comprehensive fashion, especially with regard to the relationship of pain, functional status, and quality of life in these patients. Pain Management in Rehabilitation provides a single source that synthesizes information about the diagnosis and management of various pain syndromes in patients with primary disabling diseases. It discusses pain as it relates to various disease processes from the perspective of both rehabilitation specialists and primary care providers. It describes pain syndromes, their assessment and management, in some of the most common impairments seen in a rehabilitation setting. Relevant literature is reviewed, with emphasis on assessment and physiatric management. This valuable text is an unparalleled guide to the successful management of pain in persons with a primary disabling disease, with the goal of preventing physiological and functional decline and the improvement of functional abilities, which in turn lead to enhanced psychosocial functioning and quality of life.