In such cases, pain must be managed so that sufferers may resume a normal lifestyle. The goals of pain management are to decrease pain intensity and increase the patient's physical activity. The objectives of this article are to explore the advantages and disadvantages of drug and herbal therapies, and to identify the most beneficial treatment for the patient. The ideal treatment for pain is to identify and eliminate the cause. However, symptomatic pain relief is often critical and necessary, such as in cases of traumatic injuries, acute migraine, burns, pain related to cancer and surgical procedures.
Analgesic medications are the first line of treatment in Western medicine.
It is essential that health care practitioners be familiar with the indications for, and functions, side-effects and toxicity of, these medications. Salicylates Salicylates are among the oldest and most commonly used analgesics. A naturally occurring substance found in willow bark, aspirin is the original prototype for the design of modern salicylates. Aspirin's therapeutic effect lies in its ability to irreversibly inhibit cyclo-oxygenase, an enzyme responsible for the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandin peroxides. Interruption of this pathway leads to aspirin's analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory actions.