{"id":300,"date":"2021-03-22T17:08:26","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T17:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hvcc-healthpsychology\/?post_type=chapter&p=300"},"modified":"2021-03-22T17:08:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-22T17:08:26","slug":"pain-management","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hvcc-healthpsychology\/chapter\/pain-management\/","title":{"raw":"Pain management","rendered":"Pain management"},"content":{"raw":"Pain management<\/b>,\u00a0pain killer<\/b>,\u00a0pain medicine<\/b>,\u00a0pain control<\/b>\u00a0or\u00a0algiatry<\/b>, is a branch of\u00a0medicine<\/a>\u00a0that uses an interdisciplinary approach for easing the suffering and improving the\u00a0quality of life<\/a>\u00a0of those living with\u00a0chronic pain<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The typical pain management team includes\u00a0medical practitioners<\/a>,\u00a0pharmacists<\/a>,\u00a0clinical psychologists<\/a>,\u00a0physiotherapists<\/a>,\u00a0occupational therapists<\/a>,\u00a0physician assistants<\/a>,\u00a0nurses<\/a>, and\u00a0dentists<\/a>.[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The team may also include other\u00a0mental health<\/a>\u00a0specialists and\u00a0massage therapists<\/a>. Pain sometimes resolves quickly once the underlying\u00a0trauma<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0pathology<\/a>\u00a0has healed, and is treated by one practitioner, with drugs such as\u00a0analgesics<\/a>\u00a0and (occasionally)\u00a0anxiolytics<\/a>. Effective management of\u00a0chronic (long-term) pain<\/a>, however, frequently requires the coordinated efforts of the pain management team.[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Effective pain management does not mean total eradication of all pain.\r\n\r\nMedicine treats\u00a0injuries<\/a>\u00a0and diseases to support and speed healing. It treats distressing symptoms such as pain to relieve\u00a0suffering<\/a>\u00a0during treatment, healing, and\u00a0dying<\/a>. The task of medicine is to relieve suffering under three circumstances. The first being when a painful injury or pathology is resistant to treatment and persists. The second is when pain persists after the injury or pathology has healed. Finally the third circumstance is when medical science cannot identify the cause of pain. Treatment approaches to chronic pain include\u00a0pharmacological<\/a>\u00a0measures, such as\u00a0analgesics<\/a>,\u00a0antidepressants<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0anticonvulsants<\/a>, interventional procedures, physical therapy,\u00a0physical exercise<\/a>, application of ice or heat, and\u00a0psychological<\/a>\u00a0measures, such as\u00a0biofeedback<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0cognitive behavioral therapy<\/a>.\r\n

Defining pain<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\r\nIn the nursing profession, one common definition of pain is any problem that is \"whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever the experiencing person says it does\".[4]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n\r\nPain management includes patient communication about the pain problem.[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0To define the pain problem, a health care provider will likely ask questions such as:[5]<\/a><\/sup>\r\n