Pain management in older people

At times providing pain relief in elderly patients can prove troublesome. Their tolerance and perception of pain can differ from that of younger patients, while the incidence of pain is above that found in those of less advanced years. Conventional approaches to providing pain relief can be successful, but the tolerance to the side-effects of those drugs used to provide pain relief can be less. Furthermore, polypharmacy can have implications for the range of analgesic drugs that can be considered. Fortunately there are an increasing range of medicinal products with reduced potential for side-effects that can be considered when treating older patients with pain.