WHO Guidelines
WHO Pain Management Guidelines

As a guide for using analgesic drugs appropriately, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the so called “Pain Relief Ladder”1. It was originally developed for cancer pain therapy but is now widely established in managing chronic pain. It recommends a progressive, stepwise use of analgesics based on patients’ level of pain.
1 World Health Organization: Pain relief ladder. Accessible at www.who.int/cancer/palliative/painladder/en, last accessed on February 25, 2011
online: 23 Sep 2012