FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
British journal of anaesthesia2008; 101(1); 121-124; doi: 10.1093/bja/aen087

Analgesia from a veterinary perspective.

Abstract: The last decade has seen continued progress in both the recognition and management of animal pain. This upsurge in the use of analgesics in animals is welcome, but the main areas of use continue to be the control of postoperative or post-trauma pain, and the management of musculoskeletal pain, in companion animals and horses. The management of pain associated with other conditions, such as soft-tissue inflammation or cancer, is still relatively neglected. Pain management in farm animals, and in animals used in biomedical research could also be improved further. Apart from providing some interesting parallels with pain management in people, development of veterinary pain management has potentially much greater significance. For many years, animal pain management has benefited from the use of analgesics used in man. In the future, it may be that a better understanding of animal pain, and in particular chronic pain states, may lead to translation of therapies in the opposite direction.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2008-04-19 PubMed ID: 18424804DOI: 10.1093/bja/aen087Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article
  • Review

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research article talks about the advances in pain management of animals in the veterinary domain over the past decade, while also recognizing areas where further development is required, such as with soft-tissue inflammation, cancer, and the pain management of farm animals and those used in biomedical research.

Recognizing and Managing Animal Pain

  • Pain management in animals has significantly progressed over the last ten years. This development has been mainly noticed in the control of postoperative or post-trauma pain along with musculoskeletal pain management in pets and horses.
  • Despite such advancements, the article points out that acknowledgments and approaches to pain from certain conditions like soft-tissue inflammation or cancer remain relatively undeveloped. There’s a conspicuous requirement for further investigation in these areas for better animal care.

Pain Management in Farm Animals and Biomedical Research

  • There is a specific emphasis in the article on improvements needed for pain management in farm animals and animals used in biomedical research. The article hints at insufficient practices or lack of knowledge in these areas and calls for more comprehensive methods of treating and managing pain.
  • This deficiency in adequate pain management could be due to less attention paid to these categories of animals, possibly due to economic factors, resources, or the perception that pain management in these animals is less significant than in companion animals.

Future Perspectives in Veterinary Pain Management

  • The research article suggests an interesting notion that development of veterinary pain management could have broader implications. For a long time, human analgesics have been effectively used in animal pain management. But, the future might witness a reversal of this pattern.
  • The authors opine that a more in-depth understanding of animal pain and particularly chronic pain conditions, could open new avenues for human pain therapy. This implies that learning more about how to treat chronic pain in animals could lead to advancements in human chronic pain treatments.

Cite This Article

APA
Flecknell P. (2008). Analgesia from a veterinary perspective. Br J Anaesth, 101(1), 121-124. https://doi.org/10.1093/bja/aen087

Publication

British journal of anaesthesia
ISSN: 1471-6771
NlmUniqueID: 0372541
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 101
Issue: 1
Pages: 121-124

Researcher Affiliations

Flecknell, P
  • Comparative Biology Centre, The Medical School, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 4HH, UK. p.a.flecknell@ncl.ac.uk

MeSH Terms

  • Analgesia / veterinary
  • Animals
  • Humans
  • Nociceptors / physiology
  • Pain / veterinary
  • Pain Management
  • Pain Measurement / methods
  • Pain Measurement / veterinary

References

This article includes 36 references

Citations

This article has been cited 24 times.
  1. Sander AN, Storz S, Xenoulis PG, Heilmann RM. Assessment of acute and chronic pain in canine internal medicine-what is missing in our diagnostic toolbox?. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1614403.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1614403pubmed: 41383971google scholar: lookup
  2. Klinck M, Lovett A, Sykes B. Incorporating a Behavioral Medicine Approach in the Multi-Modal Management of Chronic Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS): A Clinical Commentary. Animals (Basel) 2025 Oct 17;15(20).
    doi: 10.3390/ani15203019pubmed: 41153946google scholar: lookup
  3. Kschonek J, Twele L, Deters K, Miller M, Reinmold J, Emmerich I, Hennig-Pauka I, Kemper N, Kreienbrock L, Wendt M, Kästner S, Grosse Beilage E. Part I: understanding pain in pigs-basic knowledge about pain assessment, measures and therapy. Porcine Health Manag 2025 Mar 11;11(1):12.
    doi: 10.1186/s40813-025-00421-0pubmed: 40069905google scholar: lookup
  4. Alipour-Khairkhah H, Azizi S, Asri-Rezaei S. Stress, lipid profile and inflammatory responses to flunixin meglumine administration in surgical and non-surgical castration in donkeys. Vet Anim Sci 2025 Mar;27:100423.
    doi: 10.1016/j.vas.2024.100423pubmed: 39835330google scholar: lookup
  5. Farghal M, Pajor E, Luna SPL, Pang D, Windeyer MC, Ceballos MC. Development of the calf grimace scale for pain and stress assessment in castrated Angus beef calves. Sci Rep 2024 Oct 27;14(1):25620.
    doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-77147-6pubmed: 39465332google scholar: lookup
  6. Tomacheuski RM, Oliveira AR, Trindade PHE, Oliveira FA, Candido CP, Teixeira Neto FJ, Steagall PV, Luna SPL. Reliability and Validity of UNESP-Botucatu Cattle Pain Scale and Cow Pain Scale in Bos taurus and Bos indicus Bulls to Assess Postoperative Pain of Surgical Orchiectomy. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jan 20;13(3).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13030364pubmed: 36766253google scholar: lookup
  7. Tomacheuski RM, Monteiro BP, Evangelista MC, Luna SPL, Steagall PV. Measurement properties of pain scoring instruments in farm animals: A systematic review using the COSMIN checklist. PLoS One 2023;18(1):e0280830.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280830pubmed: 36662813google scholar: lookup
  8. Fugazzola MC, Wever KE, van de Lest C, de Grauw J, Salvatori D. Reporting of anaesthesia and pain management in preclinical large animal models of articular cartilage repair - A long way to go. Osteoarthr Cartil Open 2022 Jun;4(2):100261.
    doi: 10.1016/j.ocarto.2022.100261pubmed: 36475287google scholar: lookup
  9. Alves JC, Santos A, Jorge P, Lavrador C, Carreira LM. Evaluation of Four Clinical Metrology Instruments for the Assessment of Osteoarthritis in Dogs. Animals (Basel) 2022 Oct 17;12(20).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12202808pubmed: 36290195google scholar: lookup
  10. Miller AL, Clarkson JM, Quigley C, Neville V, Krall C, Geijer-Simpson A, Flecknell PA, Leach MC. Evaluating Pain and Analgesia Effectiveness Following Routine Castration in Rabbits Using Behavior and Facial Expressions. Front Vet Sci 2022;9:782486.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.782486pubmed: 35296059google scholar: lookup
  11. Mainau E, Llonch P, Temple D, Goby L, Manteca X. Alteration in Activity Patterns of Cows as a Result of Pain Due to Health Conditions. Animals (Basel) 2022 Jan 12;12(2).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12020176pubmed: 35049798google scholar: lookup
  12. Lencioni GC, de Sousa RV, de Souza Sardinha EJ, Corrêa RR, Zanella AJ. Pain assessment in horses using automatic facial expression recognition through deep learning-based modeling. PLoS One 2021;16(10):e0258672.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258672pubmed: 34665834google scholar: lookup
  13. Scott EM, Davies V, Nolan AM, Noble CE, Dowgray NJ, German AJ, Wiseman-Orr ML, Reid J. Validity and Responsiveness of the Generic Health-Related Quality of Life Instrument (VetMetrica™) in Cats With Osteoarthritis. Comparison of Vet and Owner Impressions of Quality of Life Impact. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:733812.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.733812pubmed: 34660769google scholar: lookup
  14. Tomacheuski RM, Monteiro BP, Evangelista MC, Luna SPL, Steagall PV. Measurement properties of pain scoring instruments in farm animals: A systematic review protocol using the COSMIN checklist. PLoS One 2021;16(5):e0251435.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251435pubmed: 33989321google scholar: lookup
  15. Buchholz T, Hildebrand M, Heider A, Stenger V, Arens D, Spadavecchia C, Zeiter S. Transdermal Fentanyl Uptake at Two Different Patch Locations in Swiss White Alpine Sheep. Animals (Basel) 2020 Sep 17;10(9).
    doi: 10.3390/ani10091675pubmed: 32957484google scholar: lookup
  16. Alsaaod M, Fadul M, Deiss R, Bucher E, Rehage J, Guccione J, Steiner A. Use of validated objective methods of locomotion characteristics and weight distribution for evaluating the efficacy of ketoprofen for alleviating pain in cows with limb pathologies. PLoS One 2019;14(6):e0218546.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218546pubmed: 31211805google scholar: lookup
  17. McLennan K, Mahmoud M. Development of an Automated Pain Facial Expression Detection System for Sheep (Ovis Aries). Animals (Basel) 2019 Apr 25;9(4).
    doi: 10.3390/ani9040196pubmed: 31027279google scholar: lookup
  18. Troncoso RJ, Herzberg DE, Meneses CS, Müller HY, Werner MP, Bustamante H. Mechanical/thermal sensitivity and superficial temperature in the stump of long-term tail-docked dairy cows. PeerJ 2018;6:e5213.
    doi: 10.7717/peerj.5213pubmed: 30042886google scholar: lookup
  19. Chatigny F, Creighton CM, Stevens ED. Updated Review of Fish Analgesia. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 2018 Jan 1;57(1):5-12.
    pubmed: 29402345
  20. Taffarel MO, Luna SP, de Oliveira FA, Cardoso GS, Alonso Jde M, Pantoja JC, Brondani JT, Love E, Taylor P, White K, Murrell JC. Refinement and partial validation of the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in horses. BMC Vet Res 2015 Apr 1;11:83.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-015-0395-8pubmed: 25888751google scholar: lookup
  21. de Oliveira FA, Luna SP, do Amaral JB, Rodrigues KA, Sant'Anna AC, Daolio M, Brondani JT. Validation of the UNESP-Botucatu unidimensional composite pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in cattle. BMC Vet Res 2014 Sep 6;10:200.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-014-0200-0pubmed: 25192598google scholar: lookup
  22. van der Vijver RJ, van Laarhoven CJ, Lomme RM, Hendriks T. Carprofen for perioperative analgesia causes early anastomotic leakage in the rat ileum. BMC Vet Res 2012 Dec 27;8:247.
    doi: 10.1186/1746-6148-8-247pubmed: 23270317google scholar: lookup
  23. Workman P, Aboagye EO, Balkwill F, Balmain A, Bruder G, Chaplin DJ, Double JA, Everitt J, Farningham DA, Glennie MJ, Kelland LR, Robinson V, Stratford IJ, Tozer GM, Watson S, Wedge SR, Eccles SA. Guidelines for the welfare and use of animals in cancer research. Br J Cancer 2010 May 25;102(11):1555-77.
    doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6605642pubmed: 20502460google scholar: lookup
  24. Knight A. The beginning of the end for chimpanzee experiments?. Philos Ethics Humanit Med 2008 Jun 2;3:16.
    doi: 10.1186/1747-5341-3-16pubmed: 18518999google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,780 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.