What is the advantage of classifying pain?
Classification provides the clinician with invaluable information about the possible origin of the pain, as well as possible mechanisms underlying it. More importantly, it directs the health care practitioner toward a proper treatment plan in general; this is especially relevant when considering pharmacologic approaches. For example, neuropathic pain syndromes generally respond to adjuvant medications, such as tricyclic antidepressants, and to anticonvulsants. In nociceptive pain states, the implementation of NSAIDs alone or in combination with opioids is the mainstay of treatment.
