Algology is concerned with the causes and treatments of pain. It takes into account the diagnoses of all medical specialties, but also different approaches to better understand and know the patient (his biography, his psychology, etc.).

To better understand, remember that pain is defined as an unpleasant feeling and emotional experience in response to actual or potential tissue damage or described in these terms, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) (2). The pain can be acute (following trauma, tissue damage, etc.), procedural (induced by care, such as a blood test, a puncture, etc.) or chronic (this is called chronic pain syndrome. when the pain lasts more than six months).

Chronic pain is associated with many situations, ailments or pathologies. These include:

• rheumatic disease;
• the after-effects of a limb amputation;
• a migraine, a headache;
• the suites of a area ;
• a fibromyalgia ;
• or even neuropathy.

Some people are more prone to chronic pain. Here are some recognized risk factors:

• age;
• sex, women being more often affected;
• the weakest socio-professional categories.

To understand and learn from the painful patient, the consultation must be long, the questioning as exhaustive as possible, and the examination rigorous.

Patients with chronic pain can be seen in a pain center (medical institution). They are supported by a multidisciplinary medical team including doctors, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists and social workers.

The medical team assesses their pain and sets up treatments or other protocols to reduce it, or to help the patient cope better. Thus, pain management relies on numerous medications and supportive interventions:

• psychological or psychiatric follow-up;
• drugs for pain relief, in order of increasing strength;
• adjuvants or co-analgesics (such as antiepileptics, anxiolytics or corticosteroids)
• neurostimulation, the use of electrotherapy (in the case of neurogenic pain);
• or physiotherapy, massage, acupuncture, etc.

The consultation with an algologist does not involve any particular risks for the patient.

To train in algology, it is possible to follow continuous training3, open to doctors, occupational therapists, nurses, physiotherapists, midwives, holders of a license or a master’s degree in psychology.

In Quebec (4), there is a graduate certificate in chronic pain management, open to health professionals.

To find a specialized structure or pain center:

• in Quebec, you can consult the website of the Quebec Pain Society, which offers a list of pain treatment centers in the province (5);
• in France, via the website of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, which details structures specializing in chronic pain (6).