EN
Pain is one of the main problems of contemporary medicine. It has a significant meaning for the recognition of the disease process but it also indicates a threat to the organism. Pain is a complex phenomenon. The beginning of the route of pain information is a damaged tissue or organ, then afferent nerve fibers and the spinal cord, and the brain at the end. With the development of knowledge of pain, reasearches tend to elaborate new, effective methods of pain treatment. Contemporary medicine, apart from the pharmacological agents, offers different drug-free methods: ranging from blocking of individual nerves to the neurosurgical treatment.