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Pain Management in the Older Adult

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Geriatric Medicine

Abstract

Human beings are living longer than ever before and as we age, the prevalence of many pain conditions increase. Pain management in the older adult can pose several challenges. Often pain may be underreported in older adults and an in-depth understanding of the pathophysiologic changes associated with aging are key. Understanding the pathophysiology of aging is essential to not only evaluating, assessing, and diagnosing the painful condition, but also discerning the appropriate treatment. Lastly, a risk versus benefit discussion regarding treatment that incorporates goals and preferences is imperative as the patient and clinician must then engage in a shared decision-making process that aims to meet the customized objectives of the patient.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    Dale Sapell, Charity Hale, Ashley Takeshita & David Copenhaver

Authors
  1. Dale Sapell
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  2. Charity Hale
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  3. Ashley Takeshita
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  4. David Copenhaver
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Copenhaver .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, Newbury Park, CA, USA

    Michael R. Wasserman

  2. Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA

    Debra Bakerjian

  3. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Aurora, CO, USA

    Sunny Linnebur

  4. Division of Geriatrics, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Sharon Brangman

  5. Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Matteo Cesari

  6. Section of Geriatric Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, CA, USA

    Sonja Rosen

Section Editor information

  1. Section of Geriatric Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Beverly Hills, CA, USA

    Sonja Rosen MD

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Sapell, D., Hale, C., Takeshita, A., Copenhaver, D. (2024). Pain Management in the Older Adult. In: Wasserman, M.R., Bakerjian, D., Linnebur, S., Brangman, S., Cesari, M., Rosen, S. (eds) Geriatric Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74720-6_90

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74720-6_90

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