Helene M. Langevin, M.D.
September 30, 2024

It was a privilege to attend and present at the recent IASP 2024 World Congress on Pain. The meeting convened leading researchers from around the world to discuss the latest scientific developments, ideas, and perspectives on how to drive meaningful improvements in pain prevention and treatment.

During my plenary presentation, I reflected on current gaps and opportunities in the pain research field. While we have made significant progress in putting together many pieces of the pain puzzle, the task is far from finished. Some parts of the puzzle are not connected as well as they could be, and others may be missing altogether. For example, we need to understand how to promote the body’s innate abilities to resolve pain using a whole person approach, in addition to developing new and better analgesics.