The evidence on perceptions of pain in older people.

There have been a considerable number of studies looking at the evidence on how older people experience pain. Some clinicians believe that older people feel less pain than younger people and older people themselves can assume that ageing is associated with both a loss of ability to perceive pain and an increase in non-specific pain-related suffering. This can lead to inadequate pain management for older people. This literature review examines the hypothesis that older people feel less pain than younger people and refutes it.