Purpose of review: Pain is a multi-faceted symptom. Effective pain assessment involves properly defining the pain syndrome, utilizing various assessment tools, and recognizing different conditions which may affect the expression and the management of pain.
Recent findings: Pain results from multiple physical and psychosocial etiological interplay. It has traditionally been categorized as acute or chronic with chronic pain having been categorized further into 6 categories in ICD 11. At the same time, the opioid epidemic and the recent surge in cannabis popularity further complicates pain assessment and effective pain management. Adequate management of pain begins with proper assessment including conducting extensive medical and psychosocial history and physical examination, and utilizing various pain and substance risk assessment tools. An interdisciplinary team approach may be more effective in managing complex pain behaviors compared to a solo approach.
Keywords: Addiction; Assessment instruments; Assessment scales; Assessment tools; Cancer pain; Chemical coping; Minimal clinical important difference; Opioid risk; Pain; Pain assessment; Pain measurement; Pain syndrome; Personalized pain goal; Physical dependence; Pseudoaddiction; Substance abuse; Tolerance; Total pain.