Most of the time when going to the doctor’s office they will prescribe a prescription drug to the patient to help manage their pain. This pain can be described as a “sensation of physical or mental suffering or hurt that usually causes distress or agony to the one experiencing it.” (Taylor, Lillis, LeMone, and Lynn, 2011) However, there are some instances where medication may not be enough for some patients; they may require more relief than what a prescription drug can offer. This is why many patients may benefit from complementary and alternative therapies (CAT). These types of interventions are “complementary therapies (they can be used with traditional medical interventions and thus complement them).” (Taylor et al., 2011)
The Journal of Pain and Symptom Management has an article, “The Analgesic Effects of Magnetic Acupressure in Cancer Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy: A Randomized, Blinded, Controlled Trial,” which is a great example of incorporating CAT for a patients benefit. The article focuses on cancer patient’s pain management at Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at John Hopkins. Patients there were receiving a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy (BMAB) and to determine whether or not acupressure was beneficial during their treatment.
A BMAB procedure is painful and involves a needle piercing skin to reach the bone to aspirate bone marrow. Most of the patient’s receiving the procedure under local anesthetic reported having moderate to severe pain. Patients were also reporting that their pain was not sufficiently managed just using local anesthetic. Researchers hoped by incorporating acupressure on acupoints on patients hands this would help manage their pain properly.
Acupressure is a techn...
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...without fully understanding the full benefit. It’s time that we as health professionals take the time to educate ourselves in the benefit of using CAT with our patients. Our overall goal is the patient getting healthy whether it’s achieved through traditional medicine or alternative methods.
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Works Cited
Taylor, C. R., Lillis, C., LeMone, P., & Lynn, P., (2011). Fundamentals of nursing: The art and science of nursing care (7th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Bao, T., Ye X., Skinner, J., Cao, B., Fisher, Joy., Nesbit, S., …Grossman, S. A., (2011). The analgesic effect of magnetic acupressure in cancer patients undergoing bone marrow aspirations and biopsy: A randomized, blinded, controlled study. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 41(6), 995-1002. Retrieved from http://www.jpsmjournal.com/article/S0885-3924(10)01054-7/fulltext
Ferrell, B., Levy, M. H., & Paice, J. (2008). Managing pain from advanced cancer in the
After surgical joint replacement patients need pain management and analgesia because there is an increased amount of pain and stimuli that are usually not painful suddenly become bothersome (Scholz & Yaksh, 2010). For rehabilitation of the joint to occur, the patient must undergo physiotherapy. This therapy includes strengthening the joint and its surrounding muscles. If an intolerable amount of pain is present, the time for recovery could be prolonged and even chronic complications may result. The natural progression is that the amount and intensity of the pain perceived varies from patient to patient but as the incisions heal the pain intensity gradually declines (Scholz & Yaksh, 2010). “However, some patients experience deep pain or pain referred to the dermatomes that correspond to the operated organ, which persists for months or even years” (Scholz & Yaksh, 2010 p. 512). In the literature a clear distinction is not made in the description of post-operative pain. For instance post-operative pain could occur as a result of aggravation of the affected area by exercise, friction, or some other manipulation that occurs in the post-operative and recovery period (Scholz & Yaksh, 2010). Scholz and Yaksh (2010) ask “are the mechanisms responsible for sustained pain the same as those underlying acute postsurgical pain, or does, in this subgroup of patients, the trauma associated with the surgical intervention provoke different changes in sensory processing?” (Scholz & Yaksh, 2010 p.511)” The post-operative pain that is under examination in this paper is that which is produced as result of the acute joint rehabilitation process. The goal of this project is t...
Taylor, C. (2011). Introduction to Nursing. Fundamentals of nursing: the art and science of nursing care (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Macdonald AJ, Macrae KD, Master BR, Rubin AP. (1983). Superficial Acupuncture in the relief of chronic low back pain. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 65(1), 44-6.
Nowadays, complementary alternative medicine is very popular in the United States. It is widely used by adults and children. National health statistic reports done in 2007 shows that 38.3% of adults and 11.8% of children use some form of alternative medicine (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). But why is this happening? Why is it becoming so popular? Why are more people turning to it? Many times, this is because conventional medicine has not work and they want to try an alternative. That is the case of the author of this paper.
Pain, which is defined in its widest sense as an emotion which is the opposite of pleasure (White, 2004, p.455), is one of the major symptoms of cancer, affecting a majority of sufferers at some point during their condition (De Conno & Caraceni, 1996, p.8). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2009, online) suggests that relief from pain may be achieved in more than 90 percent of patients; however, Fitzgibbon and Loeser (2010, p.190) stress that pain may often be undertreated, even in the UK. Foley and Abernathy (2008, p.2759) identify numerous barriers to effective pain management, among which are professional barriers such as inadequate knowledge of pain mechanisms, assessment and management strategies.
The practice of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been around for approximately four decades now. During this time there have been improvements to the technology and the understanding of how to use this form of patient pain control; however, there continues to be concern related to the safety and efficacy of PCA. As this analysis proceeds it will briefly explain what PCA is and how it is used, then delve into the benefits and the safety issues surrounding PCA use as it pertains to the patient and the nurse. Some of the benefits of PCA include improved pain management, improved use of nursing resources, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced pulmonary issues (Hicks, Sikirica, Nelson, Schein & Cousins, 2008). Some of the safety issues surrounding PCA use include infusion pump programing errors, basal infusion dosing, and proxy errors when using PCA by proxy (Ladak, Chan, Easty, & Chagpar, 2007). Therefore, the purpose of this report is to examine the benefits and risks of patient-controlled analgesia and how it relates to nursing practice.
Complementary therapies are alternatives to conventional medicine, which advance conventional health care. These therapies have been around for a while but are becoming more popular in nursing and in health care (O`Regan et al., 2010, p. 35). It is shown that...
Jackson, M.A. & Simpson, K. H. (2006). Chronic Back Pain. Continuing Education in Anaethesia, Critical Care and Pain, 6(4), 152-155. http://dx.doi: 10.1093/bjaceaccp/mkl029
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After much disappointment about not receiving pain relief, I found began to research alternative health care options. Prescription medication has always been an option for temporary relief of pain, however; I preferred to fix my problems vice masking the symptoms. During one of my chiropractic appointments, I asked if he could recommend an acupuncturist, to my surprises he had had owned an acupuncture practice for 15 years before moving to Virginia Beach. He agreed to give me my first acupuncture treatment, following that we had several long discussions about his practice, schools, care options and many other things. Our conversations brought to light that ALT MED was something that I had the capacity for, would excel at, and would provide me a way to continue to help people post-military retirement. Since acupuncture isn 't mainstream healthcare provided to military personnel I consider myself fortunate to have first-hand experience with it. My experiences with acupuncturists have been extremely positive. After just two treatments, I noticed significant amounts of pain relief. In July, I experienced Japanese acupuncture as a treatment for a whiplash
...amount of pain) is a great teaching tool for the patient who is able to self-report (Nevius & D’Arcy, 2008). This will put the patient and nurse on the same level of understanding regarding the patient’s pain. The patient should also be aware of the added information included with the pain scale: quality, duration, and location of the pain. During patient teaching, it should be noted that obtaining a zero out of ten on the pain scale is not always attainable after a painful procedure. A realistic pain management goal can be set by the patient for his pain level each day.
art and science of nursing care (6th ed). Philadelphia, PA, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a Wolter Kluwer business.
Potter, P. A., & Perry, A. G. (2009). Fundamentals of nursing (Seventh ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby Elsevier.