Pain is often what gets patients in the door in the first place, but often it is the last to be assessed and addressed. The editors assert that after three decades of progress in basic research on the neural mechanisms of pain, clinical practice of pain management is on the rise. Acknowledging that the change has come partially through changes in patients' expectations about pain relief, this edition includes not only updates to techniques and theory but also a bit more information about caring for patients as people. It includes general considerations such as pain mechanisms and the placebo effect, and topics such as assessment and diagnostic techniques, therapeutic options such as NSAIDs, opioids, and adjuvant treatments, psychopharmacology for the pain specialist, and non-drug treatments such as physical therapy and chronic pain rehabilitation, management of acute or chronic pain, care of pain due to cancer, and special situations such as addiction, affective disorders, and emergencies in the pain clinic. Appendices include drug schedules. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)