Pain-control options vary based on the type of pain and the severity of symptoms. Health-care professionals are trained to rate pain intensity on a simple "zero to 10" scale, zero being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain imaginable.

Pain falls into three general categories: muscle pain, bone pain and neuropathy. Muscle pain, the most common, is characterized by an achiness all over the body.

Doctors may employ different methods of dispensing drugs, depending on the location and severity of the pain. These include pills, by far the most popular method of taking pain medication; fast-acting lozenges that contain opiates; rectal suppositories for those who have difficulty swallowing medicines; injections; skin patches containing opiates; continuous pumps that dispense morphine and enable patients to control dosage; and epidurals, which are injections into the space around the nerves in the spine.