Chronic Pain Awareness. Tanner Brown. Introduction. I)“Pain

Chronic pain is often defined as pain lasting more than 12 weeks. It may arise from initial injury, such as a back sprain, or there may be an ongoing issue such as illness. The assignment given consisted of finding a person who suffers from chronic pain to explore the ideas of illness classification, the experience of pain and explanatory models. The interview process was executed on September 17, 2016 via face time lasting approximately 45 minutes in length. She gave me her oral consent for this interview. I explained that this information would be used for a chronic pain paper. (American Chronic Pain Association) The subject is a 53 year old, Caucasian, upper middle class female currently in treatment for melanoma cancer. Currently, no disease

Chronic pain has four mechanisms. Nociception is a neural signal of threatened or damaged tissue, and is the classical pain pathway. Central pain states are thought to be caused by abnormal activity in neurons in the afferent pathway. The mechanism for this is not completely understood, and a person may perceive pain where there is no tissue damage. Behavioral pain is communicated by a

To most people, pain is a nuisance, but to others pain controls their life. The feeling discomforts us in ways that can sometimes seem almost imaginable. These feelings can lead to many different side effects if not dealt with or diagnosed. These effects can include depression, anxiety, and incredible amount of stress. The truth about pain is that it is vital to our existence. Without the nervous system responding to pain, we would have no idea if we were touching a hot stove, being stuck by a porcupine’s needles, or something else that could leave a lasting effect upon our bodies without us even knowing anything about it.

The paragraphs below describe the predominant clinical practice gaps in current management of chronic pain. As NPs increase their knowledge and competence in these areas, it is anticipated that changes in clinical practice will

According to The World Health Organisation (1999), defined pain as an unpleasant sensory or emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. Pain is traditionally described as acute or chronic pain. The prevalence of chronic pain (CP) is higher than of acute of pain, as it affects 7.8 million people of all ages in the UK (Chronic Pain Policy Coalition., 2006). The current leading cause of mortality that is accounting for 60% of all deaths is due to chronic diseases and is also a problem as causes an increasing burden on the health care service (World Health Organisation., 2007). CP can affect a person’s quality of life if managed poorly, statistics shows that 25% of people lose their job and 22% leads to depression. (Chronic Pain Policy Coalition.,

As a Northwestern University professor of Anesthesiology, Honorio T. Benzon, defines chronic pain is “a demoralizing state that confronts individuals not only with the distress created by the symptoms but also with many other ongoing difficulties that compromise all aspects of their lives” (Benzon). Therefore, chronic pain is rooted in a variety of neurologic functions, integrated from the brain that affects the individual internally and externally. According to David B. Reuben MD, a professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine,

Another obstacle to controlling pain in said population is that there is an “increased prevalence of cognitive, sensory-perceptual, and motor problems that interfere with a person’s ability to process information and to communicate [as

Chronic Pain Management is an evidence-based program that provides teaching strategies to manage pain and encourage functional activity to adolescents and young adults 11-21.

Key Words. Pain acceptance, Pain management, Mindfulness, Chronic pain, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness Based Pain Management, Mindfulness Meditation.

Chronic pain describes pain that persists over long periods of time. It handicaps the normal lifestyle and quality of one’s life (http://www.asri.edu/neuro/brochure/pain1.htm).

Chronic pain is a huge issue for many people. A lot of people with chronic pain become depressed because they can’t move or do simple tasks without being in a great amount of pain. Chronic pain can be caused by osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic headaches, rheumatoid arthritis, and neuropathic pain, which is caused by injury to tissues or nerves. Physical therapy helps chronic pain patients become stronger, so they’re able to move better. Physical therapy can also teach people how to move safely and function better than they used to with chronic pain. Exercise can involve walking on a treadmill or swimming in a pool.

Most medical treatment for chronic pain includes from pharmaceutical treatments for pain management, which can range from over-the-counter medicines like aspirin to prescription drugs. The problem with chronic pain management treatments that involve drugs is that they lose their effectiveness. Worse they actually can create more chronic or that can add to the chronic pain cycle.

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (1979). Pain is actually the culprit behind warranting a visit to a physician office for many people (Besson, 1999). Notoriously unpleasant, pain could also pose a threat as both a psychological and economic burden (Phillips, 2006). Sometimes pain does happen without any damage of tissue or any likely diseased state. The reasons for such pain are poorly understood and the term used to describe such type of pain is “psychogenic pain”. Also, the loss of productivity and daily activity due to pain is also significant. Pain engulfs a trillion dollars of GDP for lost work time and disability payments (Melnikova, 2010). Untreated pain not only impacts a person suffering from pain but also impacts their whole family. A person’s quality of life is negatively impacted by pain and it diminishes their ability to concentrate, work, exercise, socialize, perform daily routines, and sleep. All of these negative impacts ultimately lead to much more severe behavioral effects such as depression, aggression, mood alterations, isolation, and loss of self-esteem, which pose a great threat to human society.

Chronic pain is defined as a pain that doesn’t go away for a long time. The pain can last for weeks, more than 3 months, years, and might make someone feel hopeless. Chronic pain does not relief with regular pain medication. It is important to address chronic pain because is physically and psychologically stressful. Its persistent discomfort can lead to irritation and frustration with the person’s self and with other people. Pain affects not only mental health but interfere also with someone’s sleep pattern.

Pain is a basic mechanism in life that helps the body identify that something is wrong or dangerous. Without pain, the body would be severely damaged without realizing it. Pain can become an inconvenience when it spirals out of control; chronic pain, for example, leaves many miserable and unable to enjoy life to its fullest extent even with traditional medical intervention. Around 80% of people report chronic pain in their lifetime (Holtzman & Beggs, 2013). People afflicted by chronic back pain turn to modern medicine for relief, but even these alternatives are not always 100% effective.