Inner Resources Mediation Protocol for Chronic Pain: Translation Research of an Evidence-Based Treatment into a Community Setting

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.

Instead of using drugs to treat people, an alternative could be pain management, meditation, or lifestyle changes and health education. Opioid overdose has become a crisis in the U.S. According to the American Journal of Public Health “more than 183 000 people died in the United States of overdoses related to prescription opioids” between 1999 and 2015 (Rothstein, M. A. 2017). Opioids are mostly used treat intense pain, but have become the only treatment doctors use. An alternative that has shown promise is something called biofeedback, which is a method in which individuals learn to better control their pain. In a study that compared different ways to manage pain, researchers found that biofeedback “showed more favorable outcomes in terms of reduced pain” (Li, L. BS(c)., Lin, C. BS(c)., Ma, C. PhD.... 2010). Alternative methods such as biofeedback show promising results and should be looked at as an alternative to prescription medication.

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.,

In some cases, pain management is provided by an interdisciplinary team which may include physician, psychology, physical and occupational therapy, pharmacy, social work, massage therapy, acupuncture, and nurses (Mackey, 2015). In interdisciplinary approach, therefore, psychological and physical therapies are integrated in the pain management regime. Because of the increasing accept¬ability of nonpharmacological pain management therapies, there is a need evaluate their effectiveness (Jibb et el, 2015). Nurses have a unique opportunity to enhance the use of these therapies because of their role in patient care coordination and they are also in direct contact with patients more than other disciplines (Alaloul et el, 2015).

Sadly, for some patients chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) can feel like a life sentence. All to often in clinical settings we see patients who psychologically combine chronic pain with resistance, the outcome often being suffering, this suffering, however, is a choice. Whilst there are behavioural and psychological components involved, recent research has looked into various patient-led forms of self-help or management of pain, one such method being mindfulness. Although limited, the current evidence in this field suggests that there is a place for such interventions for the acceptance or management of pain in chronic musculoskeletal conditions. Further research may wish to look at the quality of research into this area including a superior level of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to test pain acceptance specific mindfulness interventions in matched subjects.

Pain is understood to be a whole person experience that has not only a physical source but also psychosocial and spiritual dimensions. Therefore, comprehensive pain relief must include interventions that target psychological, spiritual, and social distress. There are many complementary therapies for pain. Heat, cold, and massage are helpful in treating physical pain. Psychological approaches such as relaxation, distraction, meditation, and attention to spiritual distress are methods for addressing psychological pain. Complementary therapies offer family members opportunities to comfort the patient at the end of life. In the case of Mrs. S, involving her husband in positioning her, use of massage, playing calming music, and reading from her Bible provided an opportunity for him to replace his sense of helplessness with a sense of helpfulness.

Participants in the study had been experiencing chronic pain for a minimum of 15 years. The primary outcome measure in this study was the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form Interference Scale (BPI) (Cleeland, 1991; Wetherell et al., 2011). The BPI was originally designed to measure cancer related pain but has since been validated as a measure of chronic pain and the level of interference it has on an individual’s life experiences (Cleeland, 1991). The treatment protocol in the ACT group was focus on changing expectations from eliminating pain to the possibility of living well with chronic pain (Wetherell et al., 2011). Each ACT session focused on one of the 6 core processes of ACT. Alternatively, the CBT protocol focused on interventions such as relaxation techniques, psychoeducation about the pain cycle, identifying and challenging negative thoughts, and skills training (Wetherell et al.,

What is pain? Generally, it is an unpleasant sensory feeling that is triggered by the body's nervous system in response to an adverse affect and is often categorized as acute or chronic. Because of the many different aspects of pain, it varies from each individual. Experiences that may cause pain in one individual may or may not cause pain at the same level which makes this a highly subjective symptom. Previously, medical professionals relied solely on their patients report of pain. However, as time and medicine have evolved, pain has been incorporated into general patient assessments and has further been referred to as the fifth vital sign,

According to Trail-Mahan et al., (2016), there are several obstacles to successful pain management such as irresponsible behavior, imprecise, inadequate repeated assessments, and inadequate analgesics dispensation execution and inefficient communication between nurses and patients and mostly among nurses mostly at change of shift. Lack of education among healthcare workers about proper pain medication dosing and unjustified worry about controlled substance addiction lead to poor pain administration. Patients may not have any understanding of the pain scale or sometimes they are afraid to report pain. However, because of the lack of education, patients may ask for pain medication when the pain is very severe and the medication is not enough to take care of the pain. Also, sometimes their fear of dependency is greater than their fear of the pain they are in. As

Moreover, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health (2011) stated that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) involves health systems, practices and products that are not part of conventional medicine. It also added, “Surveys show that 27–60 percent of chronic pain patients use CAM.” Nonetheless, clinicians are urged to learn about this alternative treatment for pain which raise the possibility of interactions with conventional treatments. Cheatle et al., reports that acupuncture, one of the most widely used CAM therapies for substance abuse, yoga, and optimal healing environment are some of the many options currently being used and studied in the literature as options for treatment of patients with SUDs (2014, p. 46-47). Researches

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.

Over many years, society has explored options into different varieties and forms of medicine to help people with pain along with other treatment options not prescribed by mainstream medicine. Some options of alternative medicine consist of acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbal medicine, meditation, massage, aromatherapy, hypnosis, and other medicines not prescribed by mainstream medical care. People look towards these options after most other options are explored and tried out over years to help cope with personal trauma or pain/injury. We will be looking at all the various examples listed above in more significantly detail and give more detailed explanation of what each individual technique can do for you. These methods can be used in a variety of approaches to promote self-healing and growth after a significant traumatic event in one’s life. Acupuncture, Massage therapy, and meditation are all significant forms of alternative medicine which will be the primary focus in this paper. Alternative medicine can help people with significant mental, physical and emotional issues. The benefits of alternative medicine are going to be explored and introduced as a possible solution besides mainstream medicine.

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.

Simple relaxation tools, such as deep breathing and relaxing imagery, can help calm down angry feelings (American psychological Association, December 4, 2007). Much as with headaches and hypertension, relaxation has generally positive effects on acute and chronic pain, although the results are relatively modest (Taylor, 1991). Nonetheless, relaxation and meditation almost always form part of a more comprehensive pain management program.