Taxonomy of pain

Abstract

Research on the pathophysiology of chronic pain has begun to challenge the traditional diagnostic and treatment paradigms for the patient with neuropathic pain. The heterogeneous nature of neuropathic pain indicates that more than one anatomic lesion is most likely responsible for the clinical presentation of a particular syndrome. Numerous pharmacologic agents that have shown improved efficacy in the treatment of neuropathic pain have been developed over the past decade. For the practicing clinician, an important concern is whether the current paradigm for classification of neuropathic pain syndromes is comprehensive enough to address this rapidly expanding body of knowledge.