Chronic pain management has been one of the most controversial issues in the health sector. It has attracted so much attention in the cases where the physicians do assume that the physical pain a patient does experience is not such a complicated medical issues and is one that can be solved through use of mild or moderate pain relievers. Research studies have indicated that such assumptions are mainly as a result of physicians, nurses and other health practitioners taking into assumption the descriptive evidence offered by the patient (American Academy of Pain Medicine, 2014). The problem has been differentiating between chronic pain and acute pain. Acute pain is mostly described as short term pain that can be cured through the use of mild and moderate medication and its effect on body tissues is usually short lived. Chronic pain on the other hand, persists way beyond the normal time that normal tissue pain is expected to persist in human body to a period of even three months. The question of concern however has been where research and treatment interlink to offer the patient the much needed relief.
The American Chronic Pain Association notes that most people have been accustomed to living with pain. The support, healthcare advice and necessary medication have been so hard to accomplish effectively due to lack of enough time of conversation between health care providers and the patients. The ACPA do suggest that it is the role of the patient to build an effective relationship between them and their health care provider especially in the realization that they are suffering some form f persistent pain that could be suspected as chronic pain. This kind of pain, according to ACPA could be well handled through effecting the Interdisciplinary Pain Programs in which the patient is set to a role that makes them part of the treatment team such that they take an active role in the pain relieving process. Such treatment teams are made up of the patient, the physicians, pharmacists, nurses, physical and recreational therapists, social workers and other relevant volunteers with a common agenda to help the patient live a normal life (American Chronic Pain Association, 2014). A research by Takai, Y. A., Yamamoto-Mitani, N. A., Okamoto, Y. A., Koyama, K. C., & Honda, A. B. (2010) was based on accessing how older patients who are more prone to chronic pain cases can be assisted through inter-disciplinary approaches to live a normal life. The study included a total of 396 older patients within ten nursing homes between the ages of 85 years to 92 years. The nursing homes were selected on random bases with the first five being used as the experimental group and the second group of five nursing homes used as the control group.
The experimental group was subjected to an eight week training program through thorough guidance by health practitioners while the control group was left to manage the pain on their own. The study results indicated a significant reduction in pain intensity for the experimental group patients by 4.19 ± 2.25 on an 11-point-scale as compared to the experimental group which ranged at 2.67 ± 2.08. Similarly, the psychological happiness and life satisfaction of the experimental group was recorded as having improved by 5.16 compared to that of the experimental group that was recorded at 2.49 on an 11-point-scale. The study was quite effective as it proved that the relationship between the health care givers and the patient coupled with exercise does not only reduce the pain intensity but does improve the satisfaction and psychological wellbeing of the patient. The main strength of this study was that it was conducted within a small but diverse population of patients which offered a chance to incorporate the diversity of cultures and backgrounds and their ways of handling disease cases. Its weakness however is that the research was limited to patients under nursing homes where the conditions are moderately good as compared to patients who live with the pain at home. This bias meant that the study was narrow in its choice of the experimental group.
According to Long, C. O. (2013), pain management is not just a treatment but a process of studying the pain, how it can be prevented, evaluated, diagnosed and treated while considering the rehabilitation techniques that can be implemented to reduce painful disorders in patients. He notes that the treatment of chronic pain is a two way process, one in which there are no experimental proofs to its effectiveness and another in which there is Evidence-Based Practice techniques that have been developed through extensive research. This study has also indicted that there can be two approaches to dealing with chronic pain; surgical and nonsurgical approaches each of which is independent on its technicalities of approach. The two methods, according to Long, are a sure way of dealing with chronic pain medically and each of them depends on the kind of relationship that exits between the patient and the treatment team (Spine-Health, 2014). The research was focused on examining the effects of interdisciplinary care for patients with chronic pain across different age groups.
A total of 411 patients were placed under the program in an interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation center for a period of six months. The researchers used a quasi-experimental design to determine the results. They monitored the frequency of usage of pain relieving drugs like opioids, benzodiazepines and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at the rehabilitation center. A reduced frequency of use would be presumed to indicate the effectiveness of interdisciplinary approaches to treating chronic pain. The results indicated a significant reduction in use of the drugs which implied reduced pain intensity over time. Towards the end of the six month period of the research, the use of the drugs had significantly reduced especially among older adults who were also seen to be less depressed and experiencing reduced pain severity and intensity at discharge. The same results were recorded across other age groups with a variation of 0.4 to 0.7. An analysis of the results indicated that interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation can improve the psychological, social and physical activity of chronic pain patients. The major strength of this research was its ability to incorporate all age groups to determine any variations in the effectiveness of this approach along different ages of patients. The study was very effective in showing how the interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation approach reduces pain intensity in patients and helps them revert to a normal life. The weakness of the research however, was that it did not consider the ability by home care givers to provide such interdisciplinary care to the patients at homes. The absolute conditions in the Interdisciplinary rehabilitation centers are quite hard to be achieved in a normal home setting.
According to Darchuk, K. M., Townsend, C. O., Rome, J. D., Bruce, B. K., & Hooten, W. M. (2010), pain exists as an interaction of the nervous system, the spinal cord and the brain. This existence of interaction means repeated sending of pain signals into the nervous system which makes even the lightest touch very painful over a long period of time. This is a sign of chronic pain. Through research, it has been suggested that the use of Evidence –Based Practice techniques that have proved effective over time is the most viable solution to the treatment of chronic pain (Better Health Channel, 2013). Such techniques include therapy treatments, relaxation techniques and psychotherapy treatments. The researchers did an analysis of why the treatment of chronic pain has been a problem in the health sector. According to his research, they noted that there is a gap in communication between the health providers and the patients. This means that the medication prescribed by the health experts is in most cases not effective for chronic pain patients which leave them in a condition of dilemma. The patients are left to wonder whether there is enough training of the health practitioners or whether their health condition is so complicated (Better Health Channel, 2013). In this research they used the health practitioners as the sample population. This research was focused on showing how a change in practice by medical practitioners dealing with pain management can improve patient outcomes. The researchers initiated a Pain Education Program at the Beatitudes Health Care Center in Phoenix, Arizona for professional and certified nursing assistant staff. Before the program began, each of the 42 CAN staff was interviewed on their attitude, barriers and knowledge in relation to pain management. The CAN staff were then placed under the education program. At the end of the program, they were interviewed gain and their work output, ethics and procedures observed for the next six months within the health institution. The results indicted a positive change of attitude at about 12.26 on a scale of 15 with a variation of less than 0.002. Similarly, the knowledge of handling pain cases was observed through use of patient records compiled by the CAN staff and it indicted an improvement of 6.273 with a variation of about 0.02. This was a clear indication that a positive change in practice by the health practitioners towards pain management has a great effect on the kind of care and diagnosis provided to the patients. The weakness of this research however, is that it did not factor in the patient who is the direct recipient of the care and skills of the staff under training. The research answered a critical question though; the health care givers have a great role to play inn ensuring effective treatment for patients with chronic pain.
Cancer, back problems and arthritis have been mentioned as the most common cases of chronic pain incidences. The most common cases have been reported in adults. These cases have been worsened by the cases of stress and depression from patients who suffer from such conditions. Research has not done enough to come up with roper strategies that could help alleviate the side effects of chronic pain victims (WebMD, 2014). This has meant treating only the symptoms while leaving out the most basic and harmful issues in chronic pain management. Blame has either been subjected to research institutions, medical practitioners or training institutions. This has elicited controversy between the patients and the medical practitioners which in essence has necessitated the need for more interaction between medical practitioners and the patients they are handling. Over the years, it has therefore meant that use of previously successful methods of treating chronic pain is the most viable solution which this study has classified as an essential and most critical element of handling chronic pain cases (WebMD, 2014).
References
Darchuk, K. M., Townsend, C. O., Rome, J. D., Bruce, B. K., & Hooten, W. M. (2010). Longitudinal Treatment Outcomes for Geriatric Patients with Chronic Non-Cancer Pain at an Interdisciplinary Pain Rehabilitation Program. Pain Medicine, 11(9), 1352-1365. doi:10.1111/j.1526-4637.2010.00937.x
Long, C. O. (2013). Pain Management Education in Long-Term Care: It Can Make a Difference. Pain Management Nursing, 14(4), 220-227. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1524904211001123#sec1.2
Spine-Health (2014). Pain Management for Chronic Back Pain. Retrieved from http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/pain-management/pain-management-chronic-back-pain
Takai, Y. A., Yamamoto-Mitani, N. A., Okamoto, Y. A., Koyama, K. C., & Honda, A. B. (2010). Literature review of pain prevavelne among older residents of nursing homes. Pain Management Nursing, 11(4), 209-223. doi:10.1016/j.pmn.2010.08.006
WebMD (2014, January). Chronic Pain Relief: New Treatments. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/chronic-pain-relief-new-treatments
