“pain is the description of the individual who is experiencing it and exist when he says so”. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines it as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience, combined with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. The pain is transmitted through the body to the nervous system, where the nerve endings detect damage in a body part. The nerves transmit the warning through specific neural pathways in the brain, where the signals are interpreted as pain. Today specific pain can understand how the sensation of pain is generated: the way in which the nervous system, including the spinal cord, interacts with the brain, so as to create the sensation of pain. Knowledge of the neurotransmitter system, i.e. chemical messengers that transmit nerve signals, has opened the door to important new methods of treating pain. In recent years, scientists have learned how to manage these chemical messengers, to change the way we interact with brain signals. This led to the use of antidepressants and other drugs, which work with specific chemicals in the brain that affect emotions and help in pain perception. Most drugs are very effective. And with advances in magnetic resonance imaging, researchers can demonstrate that changes are very real to the brain. We can see exactly what creates the sensation of pain in the brain, when activated by a stimulus. We can see the impact of pain on the person's emotional state. There is also a new concept, a process called central sensitization. If the original pain from an injury is not properly treated, then these pain signals are sent repeatedly, thus leads to changes in the central nervous system, which make it more and more vulnerable. So, over time even physiological stimuli, can perceive as painful. With this knowledge, the specialists of pain prescribe now drug treatments that attack moderateto-severe chronic pain from different angles: innovative medicines, techniques designed to nerves and medical drug pumps, they offer a strong analgesia in the nerve roots. Doctors also approve the use of psychotherapy, relaxation techniques, and hypnosis and alternative therapies such as acupuncture, based on more and stronger evidence mind-body connection in relieving chronic pain. There is still much to learn, but research has provided evidence for the development of even newer treatment options.

Journal of  Pain Management & Medicine is a world-wide peer-reviewed open-access journal which systematically documents several of key developments and medical advances taking place in the field of Pain Management all across the world.

Submit manuscript at www.walshmedicalmedia.com/submissions/pain-management-medicine.html or send as an e-mail attachment to the Editorial Office at painmanagement@eclinjournals.com