Competent treatment in the absence of a universal definition of pain

Cunningham raises important issues about the ethical issues facing pain researchers and practitioners and the need to ensure that far more must be done to eliminate needless pain. I suggest that inadequate knowledge and lack of will are more of a problem than lack of agreement about a suitable definition of pain. In the absence of a universal definition, education and legislation are needed to ensure competent treatment, particularly for those whose capacity to communicate is limited.