Pain Control: A Child-Centered Approach

Like adults, children’s pain is modified both by ascending systems activated by sensory stimuli and by descending pain-suppressing systems activated by psychological factors Our treatment approach has shifted from an almost exclusive disease-centered focus – detecting and treating the putative source of tissue damage – to a broader child-centered perspective, assessing the child with pain, identifying contributing psychological and contextual factors, and then targeting interventions accordingly. This topical essay describes such a treatment approach, based on the unique factors that can increase pain, intensify distress, and exacerbate pain-related disability for children.