# The Challenge of Pain

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/patrick-wall/the-challenge-of-pain

![The Challenge of Pain](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin/patrick-wall/the-challenge-of-pain_978-01-4025-670-3.jpg?v=2026-04-23%2002%3A04%3A53)

- Authors: [Patrick Wall](https://www.bookquiver.com/patrick-wall), [Ronald Melzack](https://www.bookquiver.com/ronald-melzack)
- Language: en_GB
- Published: 2008-06-05

## Description

Pain has many valuable functions. It can be a warning or force us to rest our bodies. Yet most ongoing chronic pain, such as unrelenting backache or headache, has no discernable cause and diminishes countless lives. Over the years a scientific revolution has taken place in chronic pain research and therapy. A major catalyst for this was the introduction of the ‘gate theory’ by Professor Ronald Melzack and Professor Patrick D. Wall, which argued that pain is a unified stream of experience generated by the brain, incorporating a whole host of psychological functions. Their now-classic book, with a new introduction taking in all the latest medical developments, examines every facet of pain: the psychological and clinical aspects, the physiological evidence, the major theories of pain and the developments in its control. The challenge in the twenty-first century is to look at how memories, personal and social expectations, genetics, gender, aging and stress patterns all play a role in pain, and how understanding this could lead to the relief of the suffering endured by millions.

## Editions

### The Challenge of Pain

- Publisher: Penguin
- ISBN: 978-01-4025-670-3
- Pages: 368
- Published: 2008-06-05
- Language: en_GB