Acute pain management in general practice: steps to effective pain control

Pain is one of the most common complaints that general practitioners encounter in everyday practice. The swift and effective management of pain is a medical mandate, not only to fulfil an ethical obligation to the patient, but also to prevent long-term complications, such as chronic pain. General practitioners are often required to manage mild-to-moderate pain, and have multiple pain management treatments available to them. The challenge is to tailor a treatment plan to suit the individual requirements of each patient. In this paper, we will explore how best to manage acute mild-to-moderate pain in general practice in a logical stepwise approach.