1980 - 1989
1981
Third World Congress on Pain - Edinburgh
In 1981, nearly 1,670 delegates attended the World Congress on Pain, reflecting the growing IASP membership. This World Congress on Pain featured the first breakfast sessions, and financial aid was available to help trainees attend.
1981
IASP Dedicates Plaque to Inventor of Anesthesia
In 1981, during the Third World Congress on Pain, a plaque was erected at 5 North Bridge, Edinburgh, to mark the location of the pharmacy that supplied chloroform to James Simpson in 1847. Simpson used the chloroform to invent anesthesia. The plaque was dedicated by John Bonica and the Edinburgh City Council.
1982
Bibliography on Pain
In 1982, the Bibliography on Pain was prepared by the Committee on Education and edited by John D. Loeser and William Noordenbos. The Bibliography on Pain included classical and current references, all annotated, and would be published in two segments in subsequent IASP Newsletters. This document was updated periodically, but eventually it was discontinued when access to MEDLARS and its successors became more available at university and medical libraries and on personal computers.
1984
Fourth World Congress on Pain - Seattle
In 1984, the World Congress on Pain was attended by 1,850 delegates from 38 countries, about 200 more than the Third World Congress on Pain in 1981. The 1984 World Congress on Pain saw the introduction of workshop sessions that would provide more interaction among delegates and speakers.
1984
First Award Presented at the World Congress on Pain
In 1984 Edward R. Perl (right) received the first John J. Bonica Distinguished Lecture Prize at the World Congress on Pain in Seattle. Not only was Edward Perl the first recipient of this prestigious award, but he was also the first person to have their award presented at a World Congress on Pain.
1986
IASP Published the First Definition of Pain
In 1986, IASP’s first edition of the Classification of Chronic Pain: Description of Chronic Pain Syndromes and Definitions of Terms, edited by Harold Merskey, was published as a supplement to PAIN with IASP ownership of copyright. This also included the first definition of Allodynia, a term created by the Taxonomy Committee and has been widely used ever since.
1987
Fifth World Congress on Pain - Hamburg
In 1987, the World Congress on Pain introduced Refresher Courses to the scientific program. Refresher Courses have been an important part of every World Congress on Pain ever since. It was also the first year that financial aid was available to help people from developing countries attend.
1987
Meeting with Pope John Paul II
In 1987, Dr. Bonica, with the help of his friend and IASP member, Prof. Corrado Manni of the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome, arranged for a private Papal audience to present the work of IASP and the International Pain Foundation. The Pope was quoted on the visit in L’Osservatore Romano (the Vatican City Newspaper) that month.
“...I offer a special welcome to the representatives of the International Association for the Study of Pain and the International Pain Foundation. Dear Friends: you devote yourselves to treating and lessening the pain of so many of our suffering brothers and sisters. Your service to humanity is not simply a profession but a true vocation. I thank the Lord for having called you to this service, and I thank you for your generous and untiring efforts on behalf of your neighbor.”
1989
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) Formed
In 1989, Special Interest Groups were formed for the first time. These SIGs enabled clinicians and researchers with specific pain interests to have a forum to discuss topics in depth. They reflected the founding philosophy of the association, being multidisciplinary and international.
In 1998 IASP published, Celebrating 25 Years: International Association for the Study of Pain 1973 – 1998 and listed the active SIGs at the time as:
- Pain in Childhood
- Pain and the Sympathetic Nervous System
- Clinical-Legal Issues in Pain
- Rheumatic Pain
- Systematic Reviews in Pain Relief
- Placebo Pain
- Sex, Gender, and Pain
- Urologic Pain
1989
IASP Press Formed
In 1989, the IASP Press was established to provide IASP members with timely, high-quality, low-cost publications relevant to pain. One of its first publications was the Core Curriculum for Professional Education in Pain, a product of the Task Force on Professional Education in Pain. IASP Press published work from 1989 to 2018.