Acute Pain - Rationale and Purpose
Background Information
Acute pain is an extremely common symptom complaint. The scientific study of acute pain and its treatment has been conducted for a generation, yet there remain significant deficiencies in our knowledge of the natural history of the pain associated with common conditions and injuries. In addition, some physicians remain reluctant to treat acute pain aggressively, despite the ready availability of effective treatment, because of well described real and perceived barriers. The improved treatment of acute pain and research /education in the acute pain arena is therefore as important to the CPS’ mission as in the management of cancer or chronic pain.Beyond the obvious need to relieve the suffering of those with acute pain, the tantalizing possibility that effective acute pain treatment may make the subsequent development of chronic pain less likely demands our fullest attention. Chronic pain is an enormous drain on individuals, families and society, and any effective preventative steps that can be taken will repay themselves many times over. The proof of this hypothesis and the translation of that proof into effective bedside clinical strategies will be immeasurably enhanced by the existence of a large, national multidisciplinary interest group.
While the treatment of acute pain seen in the post-operative period and in dentistry has been valued and become structured to a large degree, there is almost no such structure for the management of acute pain of trauma, patients in emergency medicine, or for patients at home; areas where the majority of acute pain occurs. All Dental and Veterinary Schools have extensive teaching on acute pain management, yet Medical Schools across Canada offer very little.
Many physicians, dentists, nurses and allied health care workers espouse acute pain as an area of interest, but there is currently no Acute Pain SIG within the CPS. Such a SIG might attract practitioners to the society who have not traditionally felt that their own spheres of interest are adequately represented by the current SIG structure.
An Acute Pain SIG in the CPS could be a powerful force because,
out of all of the (admittedly excellent) national bodies that foster
improved pain treatment and scholarly activity, only the CPS is
national, multidisciplinary and holds a scheduled annual meeting.