PSYCHOLOGICAL PAIN ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEM ENT IN THE ELDERLY

Chronic pain is one of the most common complaints in the elderly, asso ciated with much impairment of quality of life. Up to now clinical res earch has focused little attention on pain in old age. Pain is often c lassified as an inevitable epiphenomena in the elderly. But present st udies show that differences between older and younger patients appear less important than similarities. The studies also make evident that p roved psychological pain management is transferable to elderly patient s. The knowledge of effective psychological treatment in case of chron ic pain in the elderly has been seldom realized in clinical practice.