CHRONIC PAIN HOW FAMILYS MEMBERS DEAL WITH THIS

Chronic Pain How Familys Members Deal With This



Chronic Pain How Familys Members Deal With This

Introduction

Chronic low back pain (LBP) is the most expensive benign condition in industrialized countries and the most common cause of activity limitation in persons younger than 45 years. It is defined as pain that persists longer than 12 weeks and is often attributed to degenerative or traumatic conditions of the spine. Fibrositis, inflammatory spondyloarthropathy, and metabolic bone conditions are also cited as causes. Although acute LBP has a favourable prognosis, the effect of chronic LBP and its related disability on society is tremendous. Unlike acute LBP, chronic LBP serves no biologic purpose. However, it is a disorder that evolves in a complex milieu influenced by endogenous and exogenous factors, and it alters the individual's productivity to an extent beyond what the initiating pathologic dysfunction would have.

We are born within a social context, we live within a social context, and we get ill within a social context. As self-evident as this might seem, our medical system, to some extent, tends to ignore this fact. Western medicine remains fascinated with technologically advanced methods to treat pain and as a result, attention to the interplay between chronic pain and the family system is not studied with the same intensity. This is not to negate the importance of the medical advances but rather to emphasize that a truly comprehensive approach to chronic pain is necessary to maximize improvements for as many people as possible. (Dick 2007)

For the person experiencing chronic pain, the temptation to repeatedly involve oneself in medical procedures may be very seductive. Given a heightened level of distress in the patient, the physician or other health care provider may also experience this temptation. Both patient and doctor share a common goal -- to decrease suffering. Given this, it may be helpful for doctor and patient alike to better understand how pain and the family system interact.

Nursing Practice

Chronic pain is one of the most common reasons why people seek medical care, and those who suffer from it use health services up to five times more frequently than the rest of the population (Dick 2007). The total direct cost of back pain is an estimated £1632 million per year in the UK (Dick 2007). Nurses are key team members in the total management of these patients. The introduction of extended nurse prescribing will enhance their role and can only benefit patient care. The current proposals for supplementary prescribing, however, will limit the usefulness of this prescribing due to restrictions on unlicensed medications and controlled drugs.

Background

Approximately 80% of Americans experience LBP during their lifetime. An estimated 15-20% develop protracted pain, and approximately 2-8% have chronic pain. Every year, 3-4% of the population is temporarily disabled, and 1% of the working-age population is disabled totally and permanently because of LBP. LBP is second only to the common cold as a cause of lost work time; it is the fifth most frequent cause for hospitalization and ...