Pain Medicine

Blessen Eapen is the Chief of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Department at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and is a Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Eapen is a physiatrist, researcher, and medical educator who has received numerous professional awards and honors and has authored many peer-reviewed publications, chapters and books in the field of rehabilitation medicine David Cifu is an American physiatrist, researcher, and medical educator. He is the Associate Dean for Innovation and System Integration in the School of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, the chairman and Herman J. Flax M.D. Professor of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University, staff physiatrist at the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center, founding director of the VCU-Center for Rehabilitation Science and Engineering and senior TBI specialist in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Health Administration.

4 Stars! "...focuses on high yield pain medicine topics including pathophysiology, diagnoses, interventions, and pharmacologic management... in concise chapters with bulleted-style summaries and tables [featuring] topics relevant for those studying for board exams. It provides rapid review of key topics without exhaustive detail...[via] well summarized topics, bulleted-style summaries, and review questions at the end of each chapter. It provides simple illustrations to highlight these topics.... This book clearly meets the needs of its intended audience and is likely relevant to an even larger population of providers.... For these reasons, it makes complex topics easier to review while proving the correct depth of knowledge without providing too much detail. It is well written, clear and concise. It makes great use of tables, charts, illustrations, and algorithms to drive home these points. This is a high-quality resource written for those preparing for pain medicine boards." Review by John Pierce, MD (Duke University School of Medicine), ©Doody's Review Service, 2026. Doody's Score: 94, 4 Stars!

• Section 1: General1. Anatomy and Physiology: Mechanisms of Nociceptive Transmission2. Pharmacology of Pain Transmission and Modulation3. Embryologic Development of Pain Systems4. Designing, Reporting, and Interpreting Clinical Research Studies About Treatments for Pain: Evidence-Based Medicine5. Public Health Aspects of Pain Medicine and Legal/Regulatory Environment6. Ethical Standards in Pain Management and ResearchSection 2: Assessment and Psychology of Pain7. Clinical Evaluation of Pain8. Placebo and Pain9. Clinical Nerve Function Studies and Imaging10. Psychosocial and Cultural Aspects of Pain11. Sex and Gender Issues in PainSection 3: Treatment of Pain - Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, Adverse Effects, Drug Interactions, and Indications/Contraindications12. Opioid Pharmacology13. Antipyretic Analgesics: Nonsteroidals, Acetaminophen, and Phenazone Derivatives14. Antidepressants and Anticonvulsants15. Miscellaneous Agents: Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, Adverse Effects, Drug Interactions, Indications/ContraindicationsSection 4: Treatment of Pain - Other Methods16. Psychological Treatments: Cognitive Behavioral and Behavioral Interventions17. Psychiatric Treatment18. Stimulation-Produced Analgesia19. Interventional Pain Management Including Nerve Blocks and Lesioning20. Surgical Pain Management21. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Modalities and Treatment22. Work Rehabilitation and Management of Return to Work23. Complementary and Alternative MedicineSection 5: Clinical States - Taxonomy24. Taxonomy of Pain SystemsSection 6: Tissue Pain25. Acute Pain26. Cervical Radicular Pain27. Neck Pain28. Lumbar Radicular Pain29. Low Back Pain30. Musculoskeletal Pain31. Muscle and Myofascial PainSection 7: Visceral Pain32. Visceral Pain Anatomy and Pain Modulation33. Visceral Pain-Classification and Management34. Pain in Pregnancy and PeripartumSection 8: Headache and Facial Pain35. Headache36. Orofacial Pain: Anatomy, Diagnosis, and ManagementSection 9: Nerve Damage37. Neuropathic Pain38. Complex Regional Pain SyndromeSection 10: Special Cases39. Pain in Infants, Children, and Adolescents40. Pain in Older Adults41. Pain Issues in Individuals with Limited Ability to Communicate Due to Neurocognitive Impairments42. Chronic Pain and Addiction43. Pain Relief in Areas of Deprivation and Conflict