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Current Pain and Headache Reports
Published in: Current Pain and Headache Reports 4/2016

01-04-2016 | Other Pain (N Vadivelu and A Kaye, Section Editors)

Pain in the Elderly

Authors: Mark R. Jones, Ken P. Ehrhardt, Juan G. Ripoll, Bharat Sharma, Ira W. Padnos, Rachel J. Kaye, Alan D. Kaye

Published in: Current Pain and Headache Reports | Issue 4/2016

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Abstract

Pain management in the elderly has increasingly become problematic in the USA as the aged population grows. The proportion of the population over 65 continues to climb and may eclipse 20 % in the next decade. In order to effectively diagnosis and treat these patients, a proper history and physical exam remain essential; pain assessment scales such as the Verbal Descriptor Scales (VDS), the Numerical Rating Scales (NRS), and the Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) often but not always prove beneficial. The conditions most frequently afflicting this population include osteoarthritis, diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, and lower back pain which include spondylosis and radiculopathies. While the normal aging process does not necessarily guarantee symptoms of chronic pain, elderly individuals are far more likely to develop these painful conditions than their younger counterparts. There are many effective treatment modalities available as potential therapeutic interventions for elderly patients, including but not limited to analgesics such as NSAIDs and opioids, as well as multiple interventional pain techniques. This review will discuss chronic pain in the elderly population, including epidemiology, diagnostic tools, the multitude of co-morbidities, and common treatment modalities currently available to physicians.
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Metadata
Title
Pain in the Elderly
Authors
Mark R. Jones
Ken P. Ehrhardt
Juan G. Ripoll
Bharat Sharma
Ira W. Padnos
Rachel J. Kaye
Alan D. Kaye
Publication date
01-04-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Pain and Headache Reports / Issue 4/2016
Print ISSN: 1531-3433
Electronic ISSN: 1534-3081
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-016-0551-2

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