ABSTRACT
Most people fear death less than they fear continuing pain. Indeed, many individuals who commit suicide during terminal or potentially fatal illnesses do so to avoid pain themselves and philosophically to spare their families psychological suffering. Bonica (1990, p. 2) has estimated that 15 to 20% of the population has acute pain and 25 to 30% has some form of chronic pain. The Nuprin Pain Report (1986) suggests that pain affects a huge majority of Americans each year. Obviously, any consideration of pain has to begin with an understanding that pain is a natural part of life and has been a major factor in human development throughout time. Prehistorical evidence through archeological findings suggests that the most primitive of populations suffered from diseases which would be expected to involve pain, and in the history of every civilization of the world, there are numerous references to the plague of pain. The concept of counter-stimulation through rubbing, massaging, or pressure on painful points or around painful areas probably has been used throughout history. Theory and management have indeed evolved together.
