Symptoms And Treatment Of Pain

The most widely used clinical classifications for pain are based on the inferred neurophysiologic mechanisms, temporal aspects, etiology, and region affected. Usually described as nociceptive or non-nociceptive, and by duration, either acute or chronic.

Pain can be acute or chronic. Acute pain is intense, short in duration and generally a reaction to trauma. Chronic pain does not go away, and can range from a dull ache to excruciating agony. Terminal and non-terminal illnesses can both be causes of chronic pain. Tissue damage is not always found in chronic pain, but those who suffer from it are rendered "nonfunctional by incapacitating pain," (Murphy, 1981).

“Pain is much more than a physical sensation caused by a specific stimulus. An individual's perception of pain has important affective (emotional), cognitive, behavioral, and sensory components that are shaped by past experience, culture, and situational factors. The nature of the stimulus for pain can be physical, psychological, or a combination of both.” (Potter, Perry, Stockert, Hall, & Peterson, 2014 p. 141) As stated by Potter et al, the different natures of pain are dealt with differently depending on many factors. Knowing this, treating pain can be very difficult as there is no single or clear cut way of measuring it; “Even though the assessment and treatment of pain is a universally important health care issue,

Since Abdalrahim et al. (2010) stated that nurses are not being properly educated in pain and pain management here is some different definitions and examples. According to Engebretson, Monsivais, & Mahoney (2006), “Pain

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.,

Assessing pain is a very important first step. Having the correct assessment techniques and tools is very important to diagnosing and treating the pain. Acute pain is typically a symptom of something else, so correct assessment will lead the care provider to the underlying issue, D’Amico and Barbarito (2016) identify many tools used for the assessment of pain, discussed later in the paper. Treatment of acute pain should be handled differently than other types of pain due to acute pain being a short-term process of healing. The

Pain which is referred to as the fifth vital sign is one of the most common reasons why patients seek care. “It can occur at any time, to anyone. Pain can profoundly affect quality of life, interactions with family and friends, sense of well-being and self-esteem, and financial resources” (Jensen,

everybody calls pain; a physical thing that is very unpleasant. Everyone, of the billions or even trillions of people on earth go through it. A person is probably going through it right now and nobody except the people around that person know about it. Pain is common though no one wants to figure out the simplest questions. For example why do we have pain and other questions related to it. Though now people can finally get answers. It is important to understand what causes pain to know the reason behind it, the different varieties, and what a person experiences.

Pain is defined as the patient’s described experience to actual or potential tissue damage (Yukari, Noriko, & Okamoto, 2010). It is an issue in the care of any patient, because pain adversely affects the health of the patient. Not only is pain uncomfortable, it causes the release of specific hormones, adrenaline, and other chemicals that make healing difficult, if not impossible. It decreases patient mobility, leading to complications of secondary pneumonia and pressure ulcers (Yukari, Noriko, & Okamoto, 2010). It can have such a severe effect on the body that it may cause a shock like syndrome that can cause death (Yukari, Noriko, & Okamoto, 2010). For all of these reasons, pain management is paramount to any patient care plan.

In order to fully answer this question, it is important to understand the definition of pain. 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” (Mersky and Bogduk ed 1994). The physiological function of the pain sensory system is protective in nature, to shield the body from actual or potential tissue damage. Pathological pain, on the other hand, is described as “spontaneous pain, hyperalgesia and allodynia, that persist for years or decades after all possible tissue healing has occurred” (Coderre et al 1993).

The American Pain Society (APS, 2008), defines pain as “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage” (p.1). According to McCaffery (1968), “pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever he says is does”. Pain is a complex, multidimensional experience. It is present in all clinical settings and in many different patient groups. It is one of the main reasons why people seek medical attention. Many health professionals involved in pain control (Lewis, Heitkemper & Dirksen, 2004). In order to measure the level of knowledge of medical and nursing staff about pain management in critical care patients and the economic impact I make

‘Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage’ (International association for the study of pain 2014). Pain can be made up of complex and subjective experiences. The experience of pain is highly personal and private, and can not be directly observed or measured from one person to the next (Mac Lellan 2006). According to the agency for health care policy and research 1992, an individuals self-report of pain is the most reliable indicator of its presence. This is also supported by Mc Caffery’s definition in 1972, when he said ‘Pain is whatever the experiencing patient says it is, existing whenever he says it does’.

The most common reason that people seek medical care is pain, and pain is the leading cause of disability (Peterson & Bredow, 2013, p. 51; National Institute of Health, 2010). Pain is such an important topic in healthcare that the United States congress “identified 2000 to 2010 as the Decade of Pain Control and Research” (Brunner L. S., et al., 2010, p. 231). Unfortunatelly, patients are reporting a small increase in satisfaction with the pain management while in the hospital (Bernhofer, 2011). Pain assessment and treatment can be complex since nurses do not have a tool to quantify it. Pain is considered the fifth vital sign, however, we do not have numbers to guide our interventions. Pain is a subjective expirience that cannot be shared easily. Since nurses spend more time with patients in pain than any other healthcare provider, nurses must have a clear understanding of the concept of pain (Brunner, et al., 2010). Concept analysis’ main objective is to clarify ideas, to enhance critical thinking, and to promote communication (Rodgers & Knafl, 2000). This paper will examine the concept of pain using Wilson’s Steps of Concept Analysis (Rodgers & Knafl, 2000).

Based on the duration of persistence, pain is often divided into two broad categories as mentioned below.

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.