Treatment of Chronic Pain

WHO Pain Management Guidelines

As a guide for using analgesic drugs appropriately, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the so called “Pain Relief Ladder”¹. It was originally developed for cancer pain therapy but is now widely established in managing chronic pain. It recommends a progressive, stepwise use of analgesics based on patients’ level of pain:

Mild pain – step 1: Non-opioids

Moderate pain – step 2: Weak opioids

Severe pain – step 3: Strong opioids

In case you experience severe pain, please contact your doctor. 

¹ World Health Organization: Pain relief ladder. Accessible at www.who.int/cancer/palliative/painladder/en, last accessed on February 25, 2011

last update:  25 Feb 2011