The God Prescription

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn R. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Support System ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Nerve Damage ◽  
Faith Community ◽  
Pain Experience ◽  
God's Will ◽  
Severe Chronic Pain

“The God Prescription” profiles Walt Alexander, a devout Christian who developed severe chronic pain after suffering accidental nerve damage during surgery. Walt’s faith in God and his support system within his family and his faith community helped him endure his pain and look for the good that could come out of it. Conversely, his pain experience also deepened his submission to God’s will and enhanced his compassion for other people who are in need. Walt’s experience illustrates a truth that scientific research has established: belief tends to affect a person’s pain experience in a positive way. Chapter key idea: Believing in something or Someone bigger than yourself invites healing into your life.

scholarly journals Pain anticipatory phenomena in patients with central poststroke pain: a magnetoencephalography study

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 1387-1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghavan Gopalakrishnan ◽  
Richard C. Burgess ◽  
Scott F. Lempka ◽  
John T. Gale ◽  
Darlene P. Floden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Cognitive Networks ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Pain Experience ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
Cognitive Components ◽  
Chronic Effects ◽  
Integrated Approaches

Central poststroke pain (CPSP) is characterized by hemianesthesia associated with unrelenting chronic pain. The final pain experience stems from interactions between sensory, affective, and cognitive components of chronic pain. Hence, managing CPSP will require integrated approaches aimed not only at the sensory but also the affective-cognitive spheres. A better understanding of the brain's processing of pain anticipation is critical for the development of novel therapeutic approaches that target affective-cognitive networks and alleviate pain-related disability. We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to characterize the neural substrates of pain anticipation in patients suffering from intractable CPSP. Simple visual cues evoked anticipation while patients awaited impending painful (PS), nonpainful (NPS), or no stimulus (NOS) to their nonaffected and affected extremities. MEG responses were studied at gradiometer level using event-related fields analysis and time-frequency oscillatory analysis upon source localization. On the nonaffected side, significantly greater responses were recorded during PS. PS (vs. NPS and NOS) exhibited significant parietal and frontal cortical activations in the beta and gamma bands, respectively, whereas NPS (vs. NOS) displayed greater activation in the orbitofrontal cortex. On the affected extremity, PS (vs. NPS) did not show significantly greater responses. These data suggest that anticipatory phenomena can modulate neural activity when painful stimuli are applied to the nonaffected extremity but not the affected extremity in CPSP patients. This dichotomy may stem from the chronic effects of pain on neural networks leading to habituation or saturation. Future clinically effective therapies will likely be associated with partial normalization of the neurophysiological correlates of pain anticipation.

Cultural Considerations in the Management of Chronic Pain

CAND Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 11-13
Author(s):  
Shakila Mohmand ◽  
Sumar Chams
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Cultural Competency ◽  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Coping Mechanisms ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Pain Experience ◽  
Cultural Considerations

Cultural competency within health care helps eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. When assessing and treating patients with chronic pain, practitioners should feel confident in using information regarding a patient’s individual cultural beliefs due to their significant impact on the pain experience. Culture impacts perception, outlook, and communication of pain, as well as coping mechanisms. These are aspects of subjective history that influence important decisions regarding the management of chronic pain. Becoming more aware of what to look for and which questions to ask can allow naturopathic doctors and other health-care providers to continue improving therapeutic relationships and patient outcomes.

scholarly journals Further effort is needed to improve management of chronic pain in primary care. Results from the Arkys project

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaetano Piccinocchi ◽  
Roberto Piccinocchi
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Guideline Implementation ◽  
Therapeutic Strategies ◽  
Current Management ◽  
Analgesic Treatment ◽  
Therapeutic Decisions ◽  
Severe Chronic Pain ◽  
Nsaid Prescription ◽  
Strong Opioids

Treatment of chronic pain is challenging. The Arkys project was initiated in Italy to assist general practitioners (GPs) in the management of chronic pain. The main objective of this study was to determine the usefulness of Arkys for selecting new therapeutic strategies. An online interactive questionnaire for assessing pain and guiding therapeutic decisions was made available to GPs participating to Arkys. The GPs were invited to complete the questionnaire for each patient who presented moderate-severe chronic pain, and to decide on a new analgesic treatment based on the information provided by the questionnaire. Two hundred and forty four GPs participated with a total of 3035 patients. Patients (mean age 68.9 years) had mostly chronic non-cancer pain (87.7%). In 42.3%, pain had neuropathic components. Only 53.6% of patients were in treatment with analgesics (strong opioids, 38.9%; NSAIDs, 32.6%; weak opioids, 25.6%; anti-epileptics, 17.3%; paracetamol, 14.9%). Use of the questionnaire resulted in the prescription of analgesics to all patients and in increased prescription of strong opioids (69.7%). NSAID prescription decreased (12.8%), while anti-epileptics use remained stable. These findings show that current management of chronic pain in primary care is far from optimal and that efforts are needed to educate GPs and improve guideline implementation.

Update on Burning Mouth Syndrome: Overview and Patient Management

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Scala ◽  
L. Checchi ◽  
M. Montevecchi ◽  
I. Marini ◽  
M.A. Giamberardino
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Patient Management ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Pain Syndrome ◽  
Burning Mouth Syndrome ◽  
Nerve Damage ◽  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Oral Diseases ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
Burning Mouth

Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) is a chronic pain syndrome that mainly affects middle-aged/old women with hormonal changes or psychological disorders. This condition is probably of multifactorial origin, often idiopathic, and its etiopathogenesis remains largely enigmatic. The present paper discusses several aspects of BMS, updates current knowledge, and provides guidelines for patient management. There is no consensus on the diagnosis and classification of BMS. The etiopathogenesis seems to be complex and in a large number of patients probably involves interactions among local, systemic, and/or psychogenic factors. In the remaining cases, new interesting associations have recently emerged between BMS and either peripheral nerve damage or dopaminergic system disorders, emphasizing the neuropathic background in BMS. Based on these recent data, we have introduced the concepts of “primary” (idiopathic) and “secondary” (resulting from identified precipitating factors) BMS, since this allows for a more systematic approach to patient management. The latter starts with a differential diagnosis based on the exclusion of both other orofacial chronic pain conditions and painful oral diseases exhibiting muco-sal lesions. However, the occurrence of overlapping/overwhelming oral mucosal pathologies, such as infections, may cause difficulties in the diagnosis ("complicated BMS"). BMS treatment is still unsatisfactory, and there is no definitive cure. As a result, a multidisciplinary approach is required to bring the condition under better control. Importantly, BMS patients should be offered regular follow-up during the symptomatic periods and psychological support for alleviating the psychogenic component of the pain. More research is necessary to confirm the association between BMS and systemic disorders, as well as to investigate possible pathogenic mechanisms involving potential nerve damage. If this goal is to be achieved, a uniform definition of BMS and strict criteria for its classification are mandatory.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document