We are excited to release the 2021 edition of the ACPA-Stanford Resource Guide to Chronic Pain Management. Since 2010, this guide has served as a free and helpful resource for those living with pain (and health professionals). The guide is a collaboration between the American Chronic Pain Association and the Stanford Division of Pain Medicine. It offers comprehensive, multi-modal approaches to chronic pain management authored by experts in the field and without commercial influence.
This year, we updated individual sections and added new sections such as those on pelvic pain, pain in pregnancy, pediatric pain, and many others. We also recognized that the guide was overly text-heavy and added photos and figures to communicate messages more clearly. In particular, we want to thank Ming-Chih Kao, PhD, MD clinic chief of the Stanford Pain Management Center, for allowing the use of his incredible infographics. These infographics on various pain conditions and treatments often communicate complex topics with a beautiful mix of illustration and text. We also want to thank all the writers/editors of content this year who do this and volunteer many hours to improving the guide.
Is the resource guide perfect? Of course not. The assessment and treatment of pain is complex, individualized, and frequently doesn’t lend to simple or easy fixes. There may also be differences of opinion on treatment options based on the interpretation of available data. Nevertheless, the guide does provide guidance and helps empower you or your family member with pain with up-to-date information to empower you. As always, we have to include a disclaimer that the resource guide's information does not replace medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a health professional. We encourage you to speak with your healthcare professional about your personal healthcare questions and care.
We want to hear from you on how to improve the guide for the next edition. Please provide feedback at stanford-acpa-pain-guide@lists.stanford.edu. We may not be able to respond directly to your feedback, depending on the volume of messages. However, we will read each one and work to incorporate your suggestions for the guide's next version. One of our long-term goals is to create a version of the guide that is “device friendly.” Our vision includes versions for e-book readers, tablets, paper, PDF, etc. Remember, this is a community effort, and we are all in this together. Let us make this the most helpful guide to chronic pain management possible.
