Venue: Granada, Spain
Email: icpm@icpm.net
Website: http://www.icpm.net

Dear Colleagues,
It is my pleasure to announce the 1st International Course on Pain Medicine (ICPM), which will take place on 28-31 May, 2009 in Granada, Spain.  The Course, the first of its kind, aims to provide an overview of the main chronic pain entities, from their pathophysiological mechanisms to the diagnosis and most advanced treatment options available. Hence, it is particularly dedicated to those physicians willing to increase or update their clinical knowledge on pain management.

Pain is one of the main reasons leading patients to seek medical help from their family doctors/general practitioners or other healthcare physicians. Although, in many cases, pain represents the symptom of an underlying disease, if that disease cannot be diagnosed and/or cured pain becomes chronic and constitutes the major (often the sole) problem of the patient, with a profound impact on his/her quality of life and of the immediate circle of family and friends. In this context, pain becomes a disease in its own right, encompassing multiple and often complex biological, psychological and social factors that must be addressed for the correct and efficient management of pain.