Pain Management, An Issue of Geriatric Medicine Clinics

Pain and suffering remain among the most terrible symptoms which some older adults may experience as they grow older. It is not infrequent to hear older adults giving advice to younger adults--- not to grow old. One significant reason that some older adults may feel this way is the experience of constant severe pain which may occur in the geriatric population. In this issue of Geriatric Clinics, readers will be exposed to a broad spectrum of available evaluation and management strategies. The first two chapters provide an overview of pain in the older adult as well as discuss differences in age related pain perception. The next three chapters focus on state-of-the-art assessment strategies and other issues in the evaluation of older persons with pain. The following six chapters concentrate on analgesic treatment strategies for persistent pain in older adults. This up-to-date addition to the Clinics in Geriatric Medicine will help health care providers to better assess and evaluate pain complaints and their impact on older people as well as to optimally manage pain.