Chronic Pain & Illness Flashcards
What is pain?
sensory and emotional experience of discomfort, usually associated with tissue damage or irritation
What is the problem with pain vocabulary?
Pain vocabulary is largely informal and open to much interpretation, i.e. throbbing pain, shooting pain, dull ache
What are pain behaviors?
Observable manifestations of chronic pain
Pain is protective but does not feel protective. What does that mean?
Pain allows you to become consciously aware of tissue damage but is accompanied by unpleasant motivational and behavioral responses
What is pain perception also known as?
Nociception
What are the three types of nociception?
- mechanical
- thermal
- polymodal
What are the two major types of peripheral nerve fibers?
-A-delta fibers-C-fibers
How does nociception work?
Nociception: making sense of injuries
- Nociceptors in peripheral nerves first sense injury-In response, release chemical messengers that travel to spinal cord and brain
- Brain regions (thalamus and cortex) identify the site of the injury and send messages back down spinal column
- Leads to muscle contractions, helps block pain to specific muscle groups
What did D.V. Reynolds study in 1969?
- SPA: Stimulation-Produced Analgesia
- Electrical Stimulation of a rats brain Produced a high level of Analgesia
- Rats did not feel the pain of abdominal surgery
When were endogenous opioid peptides discovered?
1972-Opioids are substances like heroin or morphine (but produced by the body) Constitute internal pain regulation system
What is acute pain?
Short term pain (<6 months)
What is chronic pain?
Long term pain 3 types: -Chronic benign -Recurrent acute -Chronic progressive
Pain control techniques are helpful for what kind of pain?
Acute
Why is chronic pain management complicated?
Chronic pain involves physiological, psychological, and behavioral factors
What is chronic pain syndrome?
Long-term pain WITH:-Associated tissue damage/irritation-Persistent pain complaints/behaviors-Disrupted ADLs-Disrupted social, marital, work, recreational-Excessive drug use or surgeries-Disrupted sleep-Increased anxiety and depression
What is suggested by the term pain prone personality?
The idea of a pain prone personality is a hypothesis that there is a personality type that predisposes a person to experience chronic pain
What are the 8 pain management strategies
- medication
- surgery
- counterirritation
- relaxation
- biofeedback
- distraction
- cognitive behavioral therapy
- pain management clinics
Explain medication and pain management
most common method of controlling pain through drugs; morphine has been the most popular painkiller for decades; any drug that influences neural transmission; main concern: potential for addiction (barbituates)
Explain surgery and pain management
cut pain fibers at various points; effects are often short-lived; regenerative powers of nervous system; new neural pathways are created
How are pain management clinics effective for pain management?
- Initial evaluation (assessment-location, sensory qualities, severity, duration, onset, history)
- Functional status (how has life been impaired)
- Treatment structured and time limited (concrete aims, rules, endpoints)
- Specific goals to achieve( accept the role of self-management is helpful in reducing pain severity and interference w/lifestyle)
What are some components of an effective pain management plan?
- Patient education (info about day-to-day mgmt.)
- Training (exercise and relaxation training)
- Group therapy(emotional responses)
- Target maladaptive cognitions (intervention)
Explain relapse prevention with pain management?
relapse prevention - non-adherence to pain regimens is a common problem; incidence of relapse after initial successful treatment ranges from 30-60%; related to regimen non-adherence as well as pain control technique effectiveness
What are some of the issues in understanding and managing long term illness?
- quality of life
- denial
- anxiety
- depression
- self perception
- coping
Who becomes a chronic pain patient?
ANSWER from lecture?
Pain control can mean that a person…
- No longer feels anything in an area that once hurt
- Feels sensation but not pain
- Feels pain but no longer concerned
- Hurting but able to stand it
What is pain (define)?
Pain is a sensory and emotional experience of discomfort, usually associated with tissue damage or irritation
What are 3 factors that determine pain behaviors.
- Determined by meaning attached
- Determined by context
- Sociocultural factors
Explain the medical consequence/function of pain
- Pain is critical for survival
- Pain has medical consequences
- Pain bears a psychological significance
- Pain is s social issue.
What are the characteristics of A-delta fibers?
- Transmit sharp, brief pain FAST
- Mechanical or thermal pain response
- Affects sensory aspects of pain
What are the characteristics of C-fibers?
- Transmit dull, aching pain
- Affects emotional and motivational elements of pain
What is an example of chronic benign pain?
back pain
What is an example of recurring acute pain?
head aches
What is an example of chronic progressive pain?
arthritis
Chronic pain cannot disrupt a persons relationships. True or False?
False.
A lifestyle of chronic pain can disrupt a persons life and take a toll on relationships.
What are some relaxation techniques that can be used for pain management?
meditation, breathing techniques
