Complementary And Alternative Pain Reduction

pain is the usual cause for persons to look for treatment. Inadequate pain management can cause delay in healing process. It can also leads to prolonged hospital stay. The acute pain management theory describe how nurse can manage pain with minimal effects from the pharmacological interventions and use of alternative methods of pain management (Good &Moore, 1996) The main factors are in the management of pain are Pharmacological, non-pharmacological, patient participation, education and different interventions. Effective pain management involves the application of non-pharmacological interventions and usage of pain medications. (McEwen & Willis, 2014). The pain management theory deals with management of pain in daily basis. It offers the knowledge about alternate methods in pain

According to the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine “CAM is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered to be part of conventional medicine.” (NCCAM, 2007) Science has yet to determine if these therapies are safe. Regardless of the answer there are hundreds of thousands of people today that use CAM to treat hundreds of different medical problems. Societies have used many of these practices for over 4000 years and are still in use today. CAM allows for a complete and holistic way of treatment of the human body.

Chronic pain is a tremendous public health problem, and a costly one. As health care advances and the need for palliative care rises, patients and health care providers are constantly investigating alternative methods of pain treatment and management. Questioning and challenging traditional health policies and practices has created a curiosity in the use of cannabis as an alternative option to standard opioids, for the management of chronic pain. Cannabis, is a leafy green plant consisting of buds and leaves of the cannabis sativa forma indica plants. Marijuana has been used in holistic solutions for hundreds of years; it has also been especially prevalent among terminally ill patients, who have been reported using it to alleviate symptoms like chronic pain, nausea and depression.

It could be considered that conventional medicine has indirectly contributed to the rise of complementary and alternative medicine. A broad definition of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is “a broad set of health care practices that are not part of that country’s own tradition or conventional medicine and are not fully integrated into the dominant health-care system” (The World Health Organisation, n.d.). Expanding on this definition it is important to address the variable similarities of CAM modalities. CAM therapies across the various modalities have in common a shared, in varying degrees, holistic approach and subscribe to some form of vitality - a contrast from the science-based view point of conventional medicine prevalent in western society. In spite of CAM therapies empirical nature and efficacies, it is suggested that dissatisfaction of conventional medicine underpins the popularity it has garnered, thus, it will be examined further as to how and why. A further discussion will be made to related dangers of both alternative and science-based medicine; providing an opportunity to constructively educate the public on the differences between the two systems.

Many people will experience many physical factors such as pain and mobility problems, some individuals may feel that it’s best to take orthodox medicines which are the best pain relief or option for them, this includes treatments such as paracetamol and ibuprofen. However, some people might have side effects from medicines, therefore they choose to have alternatives, such as, massage and acupuncture. This means that pain can be taken away without any side

The term complementary medicine is used by conventional medical practitioners to refer to nom-invasive, non-pharmaceutical techniques which are used in conjunction with allopathic medical treatments such as drugs and surgery. The term implies that sometimes conventional medicine is used as a primary tool and also a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical complementary technique is used as a supplement when needed. Complementary medicine has become an increasing feature of healthcare

CAM therapies are being used more today than in years past. The use of CAM has become helpful for many patients to elevate symptoms of their ailment. When studying which CAM therapy is right for the symptoms that are presented we need to be sure that the source of information is reliable and credible.

The relationship discovered in the articles written by Denneson, et., al (2011) and Fletcher, et., al (2016) discuss how the Department of Veterans Affair is studying the significance of using complementary alternative medicine to effectively control chronic noncancerous pain versus the continuous use of opioids. Massage therapy was the most preferred and effective method for management of pain. In the article written by Fletcher, et., al (2016), about 60 percent of the outpatient was taking opioids for management of chronic pain.

Recognizing that the prevention of chronic disease and promoting population health is the key to controlling health care expenditure, the inclusion of pain management is a positive aspect of the legislation. While chronic pain is not in the top leading chronic diseases, the cost to the health care system is higher than heart disease and diabetes combined.2 This paper will discuss Title IV - Prevention of Chronic Disease and Improving Public Health. Subsection D - Support for Prevention and Public Health Innovation of the PPACA, including the funding of the United States Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) for research in public health services and the examination of best prevention practices. One focus of this part of this provision is research and evaluation of pain management, the assessment, and treatment standards through an Institute of Medicine Conference on Pain Care.3

Chronic pain is a tremendous public health problem, and a costly one. As health care advances and the need for palliative care rises, patients and health care providers are constantly investigating alternative methods of pain treatment and management. Questioning and challenging traditional health policies and practices has created an interest in the use of cannabis as an alternative option to standard opioids, for the management of chronic pain. Cannabis, or marijuana, is a leafy green plant consisting of buds and leaves of the cannabis sativa forma indica plants. Marijuana has been used in holistic solutions for hundreds of years; it has also been especially prevalent among terminally ill cancer patients, who have been reported using it to alleviate symptoms like chronic pain, nausea and depression.

Pain medication. An individual may be prescribed medication to suppress or manage their pain. Dependent on how much pain the individual is in they will be prescribed an Analgesics class drug. If the individual is in mild to moderate pain they may be prescribed Non-opioids such as paracetamol and NSAIDS such as ibuprofen. If, however the individual is in moderate to severe pain they may be prescribed an opioid drug such as codeine or a stronger opioids such morphine.

Multimodal intervention along with attentive care and patient participation is necessary to achieve a balance between analgesia and side effects. Assumptions to the conceptual framework must be identified to understand the specific relevance of the theory to pain

These include but are not limited to respiratory depression, undesired sedation, altered level of consciousness, constipation, etc. There is an increased interest in complementary alternative medical therapies for the management of pain. These therapies include massage, music therapy, pet therapy, guided imagery, etc. Music therapy is a non-pharmacological intervention that may serve as a supplemental method for reducing pain in postoperative surgical patients. Music therapy is generally a low risk and a low-cost intervention that may help to control the pain experienced by cardiac surgical patients, reducing the potential complications of poorly-managed pain, and improving the perioperative experience of patients undergoing open heart

Chronic Pain is an interesting problem in society today. The exact cause of Chronic Pain is not the same in every patient. In fact most patients present with different symptoms and associated pathologies, such as the strong link with depression. Treatment of Chronic Pain is often performed a single practitioner whether that be a Medical Doctor, Chiropractor, Nutritionist, or an alternative health care professional. Chronic Pain is often extremely complex, because of this treatment needs to be multidimensional. Effective care of Chronic Pain requires the collective cooperation of health care professionals

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.