Clinical update
Chronic pain ALAMY
Essential facts Chronic pain is pain that persists or recurs for more than three months. It may be related to a condition, or may be pain from an injury or operation that continues after healing would usually take place. According to guidance from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), around 18 per cent of Europe’s population are currently affected by moderate to severe chronic pain. It has a considerable effect on quality of life, and can cause significant suffering and disability.
International Journal of Cardiology article: People with pain were less likely to learn to live with disease symptoms (2015) tinyurl.com/lcs32kw The British Pain Society www.britishpainsociety.org Pain UK painuk.org
What’s new Almost one third of adults in Wales are struggling to cope with pain and symptoms of long-term health conditions, according to a study of almost 16,000 adults by researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh published in the International Journal of Cardiology. Those with mental health or neurological conditions are least likely to have developed ways to cope and live with their illness.
Symptoms Pain can come from any part of the body, including skin, muscle, ligaments, joints, bones, injured tissue, nerves and internal organs, according to the British Pain Society (BPS). It may not have an obvious cause. Pain can have a major negative effect on every aspect of a person’s life, including work, sleep and emotional health.
Causes/risk factors Pain signals are processed in the spinal cord and then in the brain, where there are
Expert comment Lyn Watson is a clinical nurse specialist at the Glasgow Pain Management Programme
Find out more
Pain Concern www.painconcern.org.uk connections to centres associated with anxiety, emotion, sleep, appetite and memory. Constant pain can oversensitise nerve endings, producing an increased feeling of pain even though there may no longer be continuing damage to the body, the BPS says. Research suggests chronic pain is more common in women, older people, those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and people with a history of abuse or violence.
How you can help your patients Listen to patients when they say they are in pain, and take their symptoms seriously. Know what pain services are available locally so that patients can be referred for specialist care, which can make a huge difference to the management of their pain.
‘Chronic pain often reduces a person’s quality of life and can leave people fearful of movement. Much can be done to help people with pain, and we have to encourage them to participate actively in their pain management. ‘Medication is not the complete answer. Helping people come to terms with the fact that chronic pain is often a
SIGN guidance: Management of chronic pain (December 2013) www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/ SIGN136.pdf BPS guidance: Guidelines for pain management programmes for adults (November 2013) tinyurl.com/pe54ptg British Journal of Anaesthesia article: Chronic pain epidemiology and its clinical relevance (2013) tinyurl.com/ml65n9w
long-term condition is important. Nurses should encourage patients to manage their condition day to day and continue to get enjoyment from life. ‘We can help patients find strategies to manage their pain. Keeping up some form of activity, setting goals, staying engaged with other people and using mindfulness strategies should be encouraged.’
NURSING 18other :: voluses 29 no 29 ::permission. 2015 17 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 14, 2015. For personal usemarch only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Chronic pain ALAMY
Essential facts Chronic pain is pain that persists or recurs for more than three months. It may be related to a condition, or may be pain from an injury or operation that continues after healing would usually take place. According to guidance from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN), around 18 per cent of Europe’s population are currently affected by moderate to severe chronic pain. It has a considerable effect on quality of life, and can cause significant suffering and disability.
International Journal of Cardiology article: People with pain were less likely to learn to live with disease symptoms (2015) tinyurl.com/lcs32kw The British Pain Society www.britishpainsociety.org Pain UK painuk.org
What’s new Almost one third of adults in Wales are struggling to cope with pain and symptoms of long-term health conditions, according to a study of almost 16,000 adults by researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh published in the International Journal of Cardiology. Those with mental health or neurological conditions are least likely to have developed ways to cope and live with their illness.
Symptoms Pain can come from any part of the body, including skin, muscle, ligaments, joints, bones, injured tissue, nerves and internal organs, according to the British Pain Society (BPS). It may not have an obvious cause. Pain can have a major negative effect on every aspect of a person’s life, including work, sleep and emotional health.
Causes/risk factors Pain signals are processed in the spinal cord and then in the brain, where there are
Expert comment Lyn Watson is a clinical nurse specialist at the Glasgow Pain Management Programme
Find out more
Pain Concern www.painconcern.org.uk connections to centres associated with anxiety, emotion, sleep, appetite and memory. Constant pain can oversensitise nerve endings, producing an increased feeling of pain even though there may no longer be continuing damage to the body, the BPS says. Research suggests chronic pain is more common in women, older people, those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and people with a history of abuse or violence.
How you can help your patients Listen to patients when they say they are in pain, and take their symptoms seriously. Know what pain services are available locally so that patients can be referred for specialist care, which can make a huge difference to the management of their pain.
‘Chronic pain often reduces a person’s quality of life and can leave people fearful of movement. Much can be done to help people with pain, and we have to encourage them to participate actively in their pain management. ‘Medication is not the complete answer. Helping people come to terms with the fact that chronic pain is often a
SIGN guidance: Management of chronic pain (December 2013) www.sign.ac.uk/pdf/ SIGN136.pdf BPS guidance: Guidelines for pain management programmes for adults (November 2013) tinyurl.com/pe54ptg British Journal of Anaesthesia article: Chronic pain epidemiology and its clinical relevance (2013) tinyurl.com/ml65n9w
long-term condition is important. Nurses should encourage patients to manage their condition day to day and continue to get enjoyment from life. ‘We can help patients find strategies to manage their pain. Keeping up some form of activity, setting goals, staying engaged with other people and using mindfulness strategies should be encouraged.’
NURSING 18other :: voluses 29 no 29 ::permission. 2015 17 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 14, 2015. For personal usemarch only. No without Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
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