The Blind Men and the Elephant: A Parable for Modern Pain Management

Feb 10, 2026 | Health Tech

Image Source: Richard A Lawhern PhD

Written by: Richard A Lawhern PhD

On behalf of: Life Science Daily News

Most of us have heard the ancient Indian and Buddhist parable “the blind men and the elephant.” Regardless of source, the parable usually contains these elements: A ruler assembles several blind men and brings an elephant before them. One feels the head and says the elephant is like a pot; another the ear and says…

Explorer – Monthly Subscription Membership Required

You must be a Explorer – Monthly Subscription member to access this content.

Join Now

Already a member? Log in here

References:

US Pain Foundation, "The Impact of Pain in America", August 25, 2023, https://uspainfoundation.org/news/the-impact-of-pain-in-america/
Nadeau, SE, and Lawhern RA, " The Two Opioid Crises- Problems, Causes, and Potential Solutions: - An Analytic Review" Medical Research Archives of the Eur0pean Society of Medicine, December 21, 2023, https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/4846/99193547539
Szalavitz, M, "Entire Body is Shaking': Why Americans With Chronic Pain are Dying", NY Times Opinion, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/opinion/chronic-pain-suicides.html
Volkow ND and McLellan T, "Opioid Abuse in Chronic Pain — Misconceptions and Mitigation Strategies" N Engl J Med 2016;374:1253-63. https://med.uc.edu/docs/default-source/center-for-addiction-research/weekly/10-22-2021-opioid-abuse-in-chronic-pain---nejm.pdf?sfvrsn=eb006e42_2
Nadeau SE, Wu J and Lawhern RA, "Opioids and Chronic Pain - An Analytical Review of the Clinical Evidence", Frontiers in Pain Research, 16 August 2021, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pain-research/articles/10.3389/fpain.2021.721357/full
American Academy of Family Physicians, "Frontline Physicians Call on Politicians To End Political Interference in the Delivery of Evidence Based Medicine", May 15, 2019, https://www.aafp.org/news/media-center/more-statements/physicians-call-on-politicians-to-end-political-interference-in-the-delivery-of-evidence-based-medicine.html

Articles that may be of interest

AI in Life Science Marketing: What’s Actually Working Beyond the Hype

Life science marketing teams are drowning in complexity. Regulatory compliance demands are tightening, scientific accuracy is non-negotiable, and sales cycles stretch 18-24 months or longer. Meanwhile, CMOs face relentless pressure to prove ROI faster while managing...

Innovate UK Awards Over £300k SMART Grant

Funding supports the co-design and roll-out of MEMORI, a Class IIb CE-certified SaMD platform, tailored to local clinical teams and systems MEMORI analyses multimodal clinical data in real-time to accurately predict the risk of hospital-acquired infections, alerting...

Re:Cognition Health & Cera to Expand Access to Alzheimer’s Trials

Re:Cognition Health, a global leader in brain and memory health research, and Cera, Europe’s largest digital-first home healthcare provider, today announce a new collaboration designed to expand access to Alzheimer’s and neurodegenerative clinical trials and support...

Biomanufacturing is the Next Industrial Revolution

Across the life sciences sector, a profound shift is underway. Biomanufacturing is poised to become a foundational pillar of how we will make things in the 21st century. Advances in bioreactor design, synthetic biology, and sustainable bioprocessing are enabling...

Emotion-Aware Companion Robotics: Rethinking Aged Care

Ageing at home is widely accepted as the ideal outcome for older adults, families and healthcare systems, but the way we attempt to support it is deeply flawed. Most technologies deployed into homes today are built on a reactive model of care - where they wait for...

Food Allergy Risk is Rising Faster Than Our Systems Can Respond

Why Life Sciences and Health Tech Must Rethink Prevention Food allergies represent a growing and under addressed challenge within public health and preventative medicine. While prevalence and severity continue to rise, the systems designed to protect individuals have...