Pain and Pain Management Flashcards
Pain defintion
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience.
What is Pain?
Pain provides constant feedback about the body and is often a warning sign. Pain triggers help seeking behaviour and can produce fear and anxiety.
Early model of pain
Biomedical framework:
pain is a response to an external factor and is a response to a painful stimulus.
Psychology was only seen as a consequence of pain (Fear, anxiety, depression).
Melzack and Wall (1965, 1982); Melzack (1979)
The Gate Control Theory of Pain
This introduced psychology into the understanding of pain.
The model suggests that pain is still understood in terms of a stimulus- response pathway, but this pathway is complex and mediated by a network of interacting processes.
What opens the gate?
Melzack and Wall (1965, 1982)
- physical factors, such as injury or activation of the large fibres.
- emotional factors, such as anxiety, worry, tension and depression.
- behavioural factors, such as focusing on the pain or boredom.
How does the GCT differ from early models
- pain as a perception
- the individual as active not passive.
- the role of individual variability.
- the role for multiple causes
- still the most influential pain theory addressing both the role of psychology and physical factors.
- theory provided a neural basis for the findings.
Role of Psychosocial Factors
- Physiological processes
- Subjective- affective-cognitive processes
- Behavioural processes.
Subjective- affective- cognitive processes
The role of learning- classical and operant conditioning.
The role of affect- Anxiety and Fear
The role of cognition-: Catastrophizing
Catastrophizing
is the magnification and helpfulness feeling. it has been linked to other the onset of pain and the development of longer-term pain problems (Sulivan et al., 2001)
Linton et al., (2000)
measured fear avoidance beliefs and showed that fear avoidance may relate to the early onset of pain.
the role of cognition
- catastrophizing
- meaning
- Self- efficacy
- Attention
Self- efficacy in terms of pain
research has emphasised the tole of self-efficacy in pain perception and reduction.
Tuk et al (1983) increased pain self -efficacy related to the degree of pain perception
Attention in terms of pain
the impact of attention on pain which can enhance the pain, whereas distraction can reduce the pain.
Eccleston (1994)
stated that pain interrupts and demands attention and that this interruption depends upon pain-related characteristics such as the threat value of the pain and environmental demands such as emotional arousal.
pain treatment
Acute pain- pharmacological interventions
whereas pain clinics use a holistic approach; improving physical and lifestyle functioning, decreasing reliance on drugs and medical services and increasing social support and family life.
