The Unfortunate Turn of Events in Pain Management

The history of mankind is plagued with events that began as noble endeavors but down the line produced unintended consequences. Several events over the last few decades have produced similarly negative consequences in the contemporary management of chronic pain. The establishment of "pain as the 5th vital sign," although noble in its intentions, was fundamentally flawed, given the lack of an objective measure for it. We are currently paying for this mistake when it comes to the management of chronic noncancer pain.