Chronic back pain is a complex process and similar to how each patient has a very individualized disease process the treatment regimen should be similarly individualized. There are several different medication classes, each with a unique mechanism of action that can assist the practitioner in targeting a specific aspect of a patient's pain. The goal of this chapter will be to provide an adequate overview of the different medication classes while providing enough drug‐specific information to guide the practitioner in selecting and developing an adequate multimodal analgesic regimen. When designing an analgesic regimen, an emphasis should be placed using a modified stepwise approach similar to the World Health Organization's analgesic ladder. There should be a focus on a multimodal analgesia utilizing nonopioid medications for chronic pain. Patient‐specific factors should always be considered when choosing class, strength, dosage form and possible adjuvant medications. Just like patients, no analgesic regimen should be exactly the same.
Part of the book: Pain Relief