Rehabilitation Of Pain Patients Research Articles

Walking down 'Via Dolorosa' from primary health care to the specialty pain clinic - patient and professional perceptions of inequity in rehabilitation of chronic pain.

To analyse patient and professional perceptions about (in)equity of care and rehabilitation of chronic pain patients from primary health care to assessment at a specialty rehabilitation clinic. This qualitative study consists one focus group interview with eight general practitioners who refer patients to pain rehabilitation clinics, 10 individual interviews with patients who were assessed at a pain rehabilitation clinic and seven interviews with professionals participating in multimodal assessment teams at a pain rehabilitation clinic. Interview analysis was conducted by the grounded theory method. The core category Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering and pain, captured how gender and sociocultural context may contribute to advantages and disadvantages during patient journeys from primary health care to a pain rehabilitation clinic. Patients and professionals perceived pain as a low-ranking illness, and women and men used different gendered strategies to legitimise the pain and to be taken seriously. Being 'a proper patient ready to change' and having 'likeness' between patients and professionals were viewed as advantageous in rehabilitation of pain patients. Patients with higher educational levels were perceived as easier to interact with and had better access to health care. Professional thoughts about gender norms influenced the rehabilitation options. The rehabilitation programme was seen by several professionals to be better suited for women than men, which could lead to unequal care. From an equity and gender perspective, our study highlights the complexity in rehabilitation of chronic pain patients - both from patient and professional perspectives. Awareness of gendered and the biased preconceptions and norms is crucial when professionals struggle to offer equitable health care and rehabilitation.

Pain psychology specialist training 2012–2014

Abstract Aims The training includes learning the practical skills related to the psychological examination, treatment and rehabilitation of pain patients. The completion of the training prepares for work in multiprofessional teams as a specialist in pain psychology. A joint project of the Finnish Association of the Study of Pain and the Psychology Institute since 2008. Participants Psychologists working in public, private or occupational health care, in rehabilitation or psychiatric clinics. The fourth training group of 20 psychologists started in the spring of 2012. More than 40 psychologists have already been trained in 1998-2010. The structure and content of the training: Seminars Eight seminars include 12 days of training on the topics of pain as a psychosocial phenomenon, psychological assessment, treatment and rehabilitation of pain patients, interaction and multiprofessional teamwork. Tutorial groups Eight tutorial meetings of 5 students and one tutor in each group gather together in different parts of Finland to discuss selected scientific articles, work on their professional identity as pain psychologists and receive supervision of clinical and diploma work. Literature Getting acquainted with scientific research reports on pain psychology and with vocational literature. Diploma work Written article or a short research report on a development project, experiment or a phenomenon related to pain psychology. Optional studies Giving a lecture or training on the topic of pain psychology to other professionals or patients, participating in a pain education organized by others, writing a report on a research, treatment or rehabilitation experiment or a book review to be published

Ultrasound-guided Injections in the Spine

Injection therapies play a major role in the treatment of back pain and radiculopathy and are becoming integral parts of a multidisciplinary approach in treatment and rehabilitation of pain patients. Pararadicular and facet-joint injections in the spine are preferentially performed under computed tomography or fluoroscopy guidance. In this article we present alternative, simple, and easy to learn step by step ultrasound-guided techniques for injection therapies in the cervical and lumbar spine.

Psychophysiology of pain.

The recent literature on pain states shows: pain thresholds are relatively constant for an individual, but pain tolerance is influenced by psychological state; the expression of pain is a function partly of ethnic membership and degree of extroversion; pain complaints are determined as well by cultural and extroversive factors, and also degree of neuroticism. Studies of pain patients reveals that those with acute pain tend to show normal personality profiles, but the degree of pain experienced is related to the degree of anxiety present. Most chronic pain patients, like those with psychogenic pain, show somatic preoccupations and reactive depression. The treatment and/or rehabilitation of pain patients has developed in three areas. In cases of peripheral neuropathy and some spinal cord lesions, electrical stimulation with "neural pacemakers" can often "close the gate" to pain signals and provide significant reduction or abolition of pain. Psychotropic medications, particularly the tricyclic antidepressants, sometimes in combination with phenothiazines and antihistamines, are effective in many instances of central pain, and help increase the pain tolerance and decrease the need for narcotics in other pain states. Operant conditioning, including the use of biofeedback, extinguishes pain behavior and increases pain-incompatible behaviors, with good long-term results.