About this Research Topic
Pain as a global public health priority, is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. Estimates suggest that 20% of adults suffer from pain globally, and 10% are newly diagnosed with chronic pain each year. The lack of evidence for the outcomes of most of the interventions providers do for patients and access to multidisciplinary care are preeminent crises in pain management today. Current pain management strategies rely primarily on anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs are the first line of therapy against mild or moderate pain, followed, if unsuccessful, by the more potent opioids. However, opioids are plagued by side effects and drug addiction. Opioids induce sedation, nausea/vomiting, constipation, tolerance, physical dependence, and respiratory depression. Thus, searching for alternative measures, especially from botanicals, for pain management is of critical importance.
Far from being on the fringes of modern health care, many adjuvant therapies are in regular and frequent use by many patients with chronic pain. Increasingly, these unconventional therapies are subjected to the same rigorous investigation that is expected of all contemporary evidence-based medicine practices. A survey conducted in 16 European countries revealed that 67% of participants who suffered from chronic pain sought other forms of treatment apart from medication. Herbal medicines are the most commonly used for the treatment of pain in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and other traditional medicine systems worldwide. This Research Topic aims to explore herbs and herbal formulations for the treatment of pain, including acute, chronic, or cancer pain, and their mechanisms.
We welcome studies on the following subtopics, but not limited to:
• Attitude and knowledge of utilization of herbal medicines in pain management, including community- and hospital-based studies.
• Clinical application of herbal medicines for the management of pain and pain-related disabilities.
• Pharmacological effects and mechanisms of herbal medicines or natural products in vitro and in vivo.
Far from being on the fringes of modern health care, many adjuvant therapies are in regular and frequent use by many patients with chronic pain. Increasingly, these unconventional therapies are subjected to the same rigorous investigation that is expected of all contemporary evidence-based medicine practices. A survey conducted in 16 European countries revealed that 67% of participants who suffered from chronic pain sought other forms of treatment apart from medication. Herbal medicines are the most commonly used for the treatment of pain in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and other traditional medicine systems worldwide. This Research Topic aims to explore herbs and herbal formulations for the treatment of pain, including acute, chronic, or cancer pain, and their mechanisms.
We welcome studies on the following subtopics, but not limited to:
• Attitude and knowledge of utilization of herbal medicines in pain management, including community- and hospital-based studies.
• Clinical application of herbal medicines for the management of pain and pain-related disabilities.
• Pharmacological effects and mechanisms of herbal medicines or natural products in vitro and in vivo.
Keywords: Herbal Medicines, ethnopharmacology, musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain, cancer pain, acute pain, chronic pain
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
