Letter: The best ways to treat pain
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Suzanne Moore ("Whose death is it anyway?", 27 June) has done little to help those of us who are struggling to educate the medical profession in the management of pain, never mind the general public.
I can appreciate the agonies undergone by your correspondent having acute low back pain and the lack of skills by the accident and emergency team in the management of her problem. However, she fails to understand the distinction between acute, chronic and malignant pain. Acute low back pain is recognised as being a national priority in terms of management, because of the rising number of cases reported and unfortunately for Ms Moore hospital admission for analgesia is not recommended. The recent report of a multi-disciplinary Clinical Standards and Advisory Group recommends that people should remain mobile and return to work quickly, so that their condition does not become chronic.
It would appear that your correspondent feels that opiate analgesia should be administered at the drop of a hat even if it is not thought to be effective in managing some types of pain (including cancer pain). There is a distinct place for the use of opiate analgesics, however it should be recognised that there are different types of pain and some pain responds better to non-conventional analgesics than to opiates.
Some pain will never disappear, despite any drugs, operations or nerve blocks. This pain is real and still requires help, but the patient must learn to manage their pain rather than seeking the magic cure. This may require psychological rather than medical intervention .
I accept that pain is a very real problem and is probably the commonest cause for a patent to consult a doctor. However, the real problem is recognising the type of pain and prescribing the correct treatment - this often does not include opiate analgesics.
Dr KEITH A MILLIGAN
Clinical Director, Pain Management Directorate
South Tees Acute NHS Trust
Middlesbrough
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments