Overview
Chronic pain management is the comprehensive, multidisciplinary care of pain that persists beyond normal tissue healing, typically lasting months or longer, and that often becomes a condition in its own right rather than merely a symptom. Because chronic pain involves peripheral and central nervous system changes, including sensitization, altered synaptic and neural plasticity, and shifts in pain processing, effective management combines several modalities tailored to the individual. Pharmacological options span analgesics, anti-inflammatory and neuromodulatory agents, and targeted local treatments such as high-dose capsaicin patches and intra-articular injections, while interventional and device-based approaches include nerve stimulation, exemplified by auricular vagus nerve stimulation, which has been studied for its effects on pain and pain-related cytokine levels. Non-pharmacological strategies are integral and include physical therapy, psychological approaches, and complementary techniques; research relevant to this field includes music-induced analgesia mediated by endogenous opioid release. Emerging clinical decision-support systems that integrate analgesic dosing with pain-trend analysis aim to individualize treatment, and study of epigenetic regulation of pain-related genes points toward mechanistic targets. Management also attends to mood, function, and quality of life, since chronic pain interacts closely with psychological and somatic factors. Study of the field spans the neurobiology of persistent pain and the integration of pharmacological, interventional, and behavioural approaches to improve daily functioning.
Research published in this journal
9 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
How this research is being cited
The 9 articles above have been cited 14 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
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2026 · Neurology International
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2025 · Expert Review of Medical Devices
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2025 · Expert Review of Medical Devices
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2023 · International journal of psychological research
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S. Guidotti et al. · 2023 · International Journal of Psychological Research
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What guides back pain care? A content analysis of low back pain directives in the Australian context2023 · Health Research Policy and Systems
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What guides back pain care? A content analysis of low back pain directives in the Australian context2023 · Health Research Policy and Systems
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2023 · The Journal of Knee Surgery
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Chronic Pain Management, linking to each citing work.