Pain can be classified in many ways. One way is to group pain into broad pathophysiological groups.  For simplification these tables have been created. By first thinking about the type of pain and then using a treatment or medication that can be targeted to this pain, there is a better likelihood of pain relief. A good familiar example is the use of anti-inflammatory medications to treat inflammatory pain.

Here are tables for reference purposes, showing general pain categories and non-medication treatments and non-opioid pain medicines that can be used. Each of these will need to be individualized for the patient and local insurance coverage or availability: