Covering major chronic pain presentations, such as musculoskeletal pain, low back pain and neuropathic pain, the ABC of Pain also provides guidance on the management of pain in pregnancy, children, older adults, drug dependency and the terminally ill. Beginning with an overview of the epidemiology of chronic pain, pain mechanisms and the assessment of pain, it then provides practical guidance on interventional procedures and methods of effective pain management.

Epidemiology of chronic pain / Blair H. Smith and Nicola Torrance -- Pain mechanisms / Carole Torsney and Susan Fleetwood-Walker -- Evaluation of the patient in pain / Dennis C. Turk and Kimberly S. Swanson -- Chronic musculoskeletal pain / Paul Dieppe -- Management of low back pain / Lesley A. Colvin and James Campbell -- Neuropathic pain / Lesley A. Colvin and Suzanne Carty -- Visceral pain / James Maybin and Michael G. Serpell -- Post-surgical pain / Susan Nimmo and Lesley Dickson -- Headache and orofacial pain / Anne MacGregor and Joanna M. Zakrzewska -- Cancer pain / Marie Fallon -- Treating pain in patients with drug-dependence problems / Jane C. Ballantyne -- Pain in children / Suellen M. Walker -- Pain in older adults / Debra K. Weiner -- Pain in pregnancy / George R. Harrison -- Psychological aspects of chronic pain / David Gillanders -- Interventional procedures in pain management / Dominic Hegarty and Damian Murphy -- The role of physiotherapy in pain management / Paul J. Watson -- The role of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (tens) in pain management / Mark I. Johnson -- Complementary and alternative strategies / Margaret Cullen and Fiona MacPherson -- Opioids in chronic non-malignant pain / Eija Kalso.