Pain principles of treatment in osteoarthritis (general assumptions, analgesic ladder, pan assessment scales

Abstract

Pain is a frequently encountered symptom in physiotherapists’ practice, re­gardless their specialty. However, despite the continuous progress in the development of the means and approaches to pain alleviation, too many patients unnecessarily suffer from pain. Successful treatment of chronic pain is possible in more than 90% of patients and it is not only the primary care physician’s or specialist’s duty, but also the duty of specialists in physiotherapy and even psychotherapists. Every patient suffering from pain has the right to require and expect successful treatment from the therapist. And a physician or a phy­siotherapist has to meet their patients’ demands! Regretfully, in everyday cli­nical practice, a physician or a physiotherapist do not have adequate tools to their disposal and are unable to apply adequate treatment approaches ena­bling objective assessment of pain intensity degree.